All Things New
What a home project taught me about looking toward the day of no more tears, mourning, sadness, or pain.
This past weekend, Kristy and I decided it was time to tackle a major home project.
Our garage, originally designed to be a place of protection for our cars, had become a catch-all for items we didn't use and didn't need.
A non-working lawnmower, a torn tarp, worn out shoes, an old sofa, a pile of empty CD cases, scattered tools, plastic tubs filled with junk.
It was a total mess!
So, we opened the garage doors and got busy pulling everything out into our driveway.
We went through things that were broken and needed to be tossed into the garbage.
We also found some items we could donate to a nearby charity.
Some items just needed to be reorganized.
So we cleaned the junk, rearranged the tubs, and attached a tool hanging kit to the wall.
It took two full days of hard work.
But when we were done, it was a new garage. Clean, organized, and able to be a place to protect our cars once again.
It's original purpose had been restored.
It felt so good to sit back and gaze upon the newness.
Sometimes, our world feels a lot like our garage before the restoration project.
What God created to be good has become a mess.
Of course, the mess around us (and the mess within us) is much worse than junk in a garage.
We open our eyes and see violence among nations, in neighborhoods, in schools, and in families. There is political corruption, sickness in our bodies, bees that sting, and dogs that bite.
The horror of the brokenness is raw for many in view of recent manifestations of unspeakable evil in places such as Buffalo and Uvalde.
Things were not created to be this way. And things will not always be this way.
The Bible promises that God is going to make all things new.
The Apostle John gives us a glimpse into God's universal restoration project in Revelation 21:1-6a.
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished!
If we put on our gospel glasses, we’ll notice that we've seen those last three words before.
On the cross, Jesus fulfilled his role as the sin-bearer for those who confess that their biggest problem isn't the mess in the world but the mess in themselves.
Having suffered the penalty for our personal mess we call sin, Jesus cried out, "It is finished!"
With those words, the Father ratified the promise of all things new for those who receive Jesus as their sin-bearing Savior.
If you haven't received Jesus as your hope for eternal life in the place where all is new, I really hope you will. I'd love you to be there to gaze upon the newness and enjoy it with me. 🙂
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