And Another Thing . . . All Things New
“Look, I am making all things new.”
Revelation 21:5
The Greek word used here for “new” is kainos (kahee-nos) and in addition to
meaning new, it also means fresh.
Fresh is similar to new, but there are some differences that are unique and
important.
The ideas of “new” and “old” are tied to time. Time makes
new things old. A new car is valuable because it does not have any miles on it.
The paint is shiny, there are no dings in the doors, the tires are full of
tread and the motor hums. The more a car
is exposed to miles and roads it begins to change, to fade, to diminish. Suddenly,
the “new” begins to morph into something else. The time and use begin to take a
toll on the vehicle. If it is kept long
enough, things will begin to break and in the (notice this key word) end it will be scrapped.
The words “new” and “old” are related to “beginning” and “end.” New things are found at beginnings, and old
things are, for the most part, found at the ends. The words “fresh” and “rotten” frequently correlate
to new and old, but not always.
Sometimes, things can stay fresh in spite of being exposed to time. For a bit, the effects of aging can be postponed.
Freshness can be infused and the process of decay delayed. But in this world, death always wins.
So here’s the thing. Old and dying are not part of God’s perfect
plan. God is only in the business of new,
in the business of life. Death came with the enemy and the Fall. In the Garden
of Eden everything was eternally fresh. When
Jesus speaks at the end of Revelation and tells us to “watch” as he makes “everything
FRESH” again. God wants to restore His
natural order. He sent Jesus to insert
an extravagant, invigorating, revitalizing, reviving, restoring, fortifying,
enlivening, story into the tale of humans that altered the storyline away from destruction and toward redemption.
Jesus was a breath of fresh air blown into a world
suffocating from a long fall in the wrong direction. Isaiah tells us that “the people walking in
darkness have seen a great light.” John
tells us “and that light was the life of all mankind.” Paul tells us that “the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life.”
God is the source of life. Sin is
anything that separates us from God. When
we are far from God we begin to decay and die.
When we “draw near” to God we find life and become fresh.
So in this New Year let’s resolve to “be still and know
that He is God.” Let’s find ways to set
aside time to draw near to God so that life can become fresh and new. “His mercies are NEW every morning.” “His
love never fails.” Everything touched by
God comes alive. It started in the
Garden and will never end.
God is making everything new. Even me.
Even you.
Happy New Year . . . and that’s all I have to say about
that . . . for now.
