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.”
– Revelation 21: 3-5
It’s a new year with new resolutions, new hopes, and new dreams. It will bring new discoveries, new challenges, new joys, and new disappointments. We will have new successes and new failures. For some, 2014 will be the best year of their lives. For others, it may be the worst. For most of us, it will probably be pretty average — a year much like the ones before it and those that will come after. Still, we can’t seem to help but feel a sense of renewal and optimism every time we turn to a new calendar year.
In Christ, we are promised newness in Him. He promises us a new home with Him when this one passes away. He promises this new world will be absent of the sorrows, discouragements, and failings of the current one. It’s a resolution that will not fail. We may personally fail to lose the weight we resolve to shed. We may fail to renew the relationships we wish to restore. We may fail to curtail our spending we resolve to control. Christ’s promise of a new world, though, will not fail.
Even before we reach that promised home, we can become new in Him. II Corinthians 5:17 calls us new creations when we are in Christ. Paul tells us, much like he does in Romans 6, that Christ’s redemption erases our old selves. He takes away our sins. He makes us spiritually new. There may be times when we fall short of that newness and we revert to our old selves, but Christ is always there to forgive us and make us new again. Every day is an opportunity to be something better in Him.
As the new year begins, I hope you are successful in keeping your resolutions. I hope it’s a better year for you than those past. Most of all, I hope you allow Christ to make you a new creation and you let that newness drive your conduct, your faith, and your hope. Every day is full of new opportunities. Let’s resolve to make the most of them and share Christ’s newness with those around us.
Simply Gospel 