Making All Things New

This is springtime - new leaves are sprouting, new grass is growing, and new flowers are blooming. New crops are planted - wheat, corn, oats, beans, greens, melons, and apples are being harvested for us to eat.

I hope you don't take any of this new growth too much for granted. I hope you don't get so used to the changes that happen this time of year that it becomes so familiar that you can't really see it for the miracle that it is. We may overlook it because we're too focused on how much cooler it has been and forget to enjoy the fact that we are experiencing a new spring season, and the promise of greater newness than we have ever seen before!

Revelation 21 and 22 is God's promise to us too. We may not think about the book of Revelation and the description of a new world that John writes about that God allowed him to see. In Revelation 21:1, 3-5 he wrote:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ³I heard a loud voice from the throne say, "Look! God's dwelling is here with humankind. God will dwell with them, and they will be God's peoples. God will be with them as their God. ⁴God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." ⁵Then the One seated on the throne said, "Look! I'm making all things new." God also said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

We don't fully understand all of the things that God revealed to John in Revelation, but I think we can all appreciate that God is leading us to see where each of us can be open to and be part of the new things in our lives and in the life of the church that is ever changing - the blessings that God has in store for us that are and will be the NEW earth and NEW heaven.