He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” –Revelation 21:5a
What if?
Those two words are perhaps the most powerful in the English language. They speak of a profound hope that is at the heart of what we as Christians believe and embrace; namely, that what we see and experience right now in our lives is not the end of the story. The pain we feel, the past that haunts us, the failures that leave us with the feeling of being less than desired… all of these things are not the end of your story, nor mine.
The hope of Christianity is that, in Jesus, God is making everything new again.
Revelation 21 paints an astounding picture of the dream God has for this world. In it, we find God remaking the cosmos–a new heaven and earth. Yet, what is most extraordinary is what happens next: Heaven comes crashing into earth–humanity does not go somewhere else to be with God, God comes here–His dwelling place is now among the people. It is in this new reality that God proclaims that He “is making everything new.”
God is making everything new and right again–everything from creation to your life and to mine. Everything made new again. Everything.
Let that sink in a bit. What might this mean for…
• The things that haunt us from the past?
• The hurt that seem to control us?
• Places of failure, where we just don’t have it all together?
• Places where we just cannot sense any victory?
• Our fears of what has been, what is, or what could be?
• The anxieties we feel about the present or the future?
• Our relationships?
Think of the hope this brings. Your life, right now, is not the end of your story. The God who is about the business of making every new is more than able to make your life new again. The hope of Christianity is not merely that someday, somewhere else things will all work out, but that in the here and now you can experience freedom and wholeness.
This is the good news of Jesus.
What if? What if your life could be made new again? That would be heavenly, would it not?
GOING DEEPER:
1. Where do you need the reality of “everything being made new” to engulf you? What would it look like to live whole and free in that area of your life?
2. Take a few moments to reach out to God for the freedom and wholeness that He promises in Jesus.
FURTHER READING:
John 10:10; Romans 5:15-17