"And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." (Revelations 21:5)
When it was new...
The idea of newness is enticing. Separate it in your mind and look at the concept as an abstract. What does it mean to be "new"? To feel "new". Jesus, speaking at the end of the age heralds a new one. One in which "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (verse 4) If you could buy that feeling of newness bereft of any context or reason, would you? For sure, it's a heady thing to encounter that moment where time stands still and a watershed is erected, for lack of a better term. Before and after and now.
We don't have to wait for the newness of which He speaks in order to feel newness here and now. I find that circumstances and fallout from decisions past bear fruit after their kind. Things I'd done (or not done) play out in a vector from A to now to Z. Thing is, God has the power to divert the rails on which we ride in such a subtle way that we may or may not even know when the change began--when the light started to get in. Best to pinpoint anything of beauty we can and run back to God for approval or just His opinion. The trees may be in full bloom by now, but there was a time around three months ago (give or take) where the tiniest of indicators presaged the beauty we see on display presently. A thousand clues that were new. Happening all the time.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
This is where it began. When we believed that Jesus is who the Bible says He is, a kernel of pure rebirth ignited on your insides (not nearly cut, dry and encapsulated as that platitude--you get the idea) and God started something new in your existence. Whether you felt it or not, it was something fresh and exciting. The term de novo simply means the same. Starting from the bottom up, to where God got down to the very depth of your being and touched on a level to whom no one, not even ourselves, was privy and proceeded to thread His love through the fibers of your being. Seriously. Some rewording of the first part of the paragraph to the beginning of this sentence has happened in the heart of every believer in Christ Jesus. Sadly, there was a servant who answers back "lo, there Thou hast that is Thine." (Matthew 25:25b) There is so much springing from the newness and into perpetuity. It's the last descriptor that gets me: "perpetual newness". I suppose that would be one of the hallmarks of Heaven. Where everything is new all the time. Not a saccharine sheen of impermanence and cursory shallowness. But an atmosphere so imbued with the presence of the Holy Spirit where the excitement and enthusiasm we feel upon being reborn or getting a new toy or waking up from the most restful sleep imaginable (a broad spectrum...) has indeed been boiled down to its essence and scattered upon the four winds. But here and now.
"Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God...And this will we do if God permit." (Hebrews 6:1, 3, emphasis mine)
The writer of Hebrews lines out a few things in the second verse you can look up if you feel inclined. I love the third verse though. Because there are people (including me) who need it really simple. It paints God as the best of teachers desiring for us to go on into deeper and deeper realms of understanding and wisdom and love and Christlikeness. But also as a tender Father who would give you a refresher course if you need it (or two or as many as needed). It takes effort to seek out newness. The right kind of newness. The kind that scales and continues and...
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:26-27)
