Old and New
“Remember not the former things,nor consider the things of old.Behold, I am doing a new thing;now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?I will make a way in the wildernessand rivers in the desert.”Isaiah 43:18-19
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
New Year’s has traditionally been a time for resolutions. The turning of a new year gets us into the spirit of wanting something new in our lives. We want to put away an old part that we are not particularly proud of and make that part new and better. New Year’s Day becomes our starting point. A place to draw the line between the old and the new.The unfortunate part about making New Year resolutions is that, quite frankly, we are not very good at it. A study done a number of years ago involving 3,000 participants found that 88% of those setting New Year resolutions ultimately failed in their attempts. This may sound like an excuse, but I believe the reason for the high failure rate is that although we try to turn over a new leaf in our lives, we quickly find we are trying to do so in the same old world as before. In the new year I may resolve to employ better eating habits and lose a few pounds, but my wife still cooks the same “old” yummy dishes as last year. While I make a resolution to be kinder and more tolerant with the people I associate with in my job, by January 4 I realize they annoy me the same as they did before. The same drivers are texting or daydreaming at the stoplight that has turned green in front of me, even though I resolve to be more patient with them and less “vocal” inside my vehicle. So as hard as I try, I usually find myself returning to the same old ways. In the same old world.For Christians, however, New Year’s comes at the perfect time to put things into perspective. The event celebrated just 8 days ago changed everything in our “old” world. A baby was born to a virgin, that was an exceptional and new thing. That baby grew up to miraculously heal people with infirmities from birth, and raise others known to be dead, also magnificently new. Ultimately, in an act of total and complete self-sacrifice, that man suffered, died on a cross, and rose from the dead to give eternal life to believers hopelessly lost in their sins. That was so new and mysterious that most in the world still won’t believe it today. In chapter 43, Isaiah encourages us not to dwell on the old and ordinary aspects of our former existence, but to perceive this “new thing”, Jesus Christ, as the new way through the wilderness and desert of our formerly hopeless lives. Paul tells the Corinthians in his second letter to them that Christ Jesus’ work of salvation has made them “new creations”. The same applies to us today. Making annual resolutions to create newness in ourselves is laughable when compared to the newness Jesus brings to our lives. How blessed we are that this “new thing”, Christ the saving Messiah, has arrived, and we are allowed to participate in the eternal significance of His arrival.We are, however, still trying to exist in this “old” world. Though we know our souls are secure through Jesus’ work and we have spiritually become new creations, the sun comes up each morning in an old world with us still in it. A world where we should no longer feel at home. But God has an answer for this as well. God’s kingdom has now come to this world, and we are a part of it, but this world is not our ultimate destination. In Revelation 21:1-5, John gives a wonderful glimpse at what that new world in the future will be like:“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ ” Revelation 21:1-5With His first coming, Jesus made it possible for our hearts to become new. When he returns, He will make everything else new. After thousands of years of the sin-caused pain and misery in the world, how much newer can it get than no tears, or pain, or even death – ever again? Today’s world seems to be increasing in tears, pain, and death. The new world will be the polar opposite of the one we’re now living in. Can we even imagine God not only in our hearts, but living in the very presence of Him? Nothing could be newer. He will make all things new, and we know this because His words are “trustworthy and true”. So, we shouldn’t be afraid to make New Year’s resolutions. While we are here, it’s commendable to strive to be better people. But when the old things of this old world return a few days into January, and we stumble on our path to better-ness, take heart that the “old” is only temporary. Live the “newness” that Jesus brings into our hearts, and long for the newness he will bring to everything else when he returns.