Yesterday we celebrated Easter- the day when God rose Jesus from the dead, making Him new, and offering new life to humanity. Pastor Steve spoke about this yesterday morning and I thought about it for the rest of the day. The truth is, we live in a dying world. The moment we are born, we start dying. The moment we drive new cars off of the lot, they depreciate in value. New homes need repair. Our bodies wither and age. Trees lose limbs and eventually fall down. The world is dying and groaning in its despair (Romans 8:22) Something- anything- that is "new" only stays that way for a moment or two.
When Eric and I were dating and then engaged, good-hearted friends warned us about losing the "puppy love" phase of our relationship saying that it would soon wear away when we settled into the monotonous struggle of marriage. I am proud to say that now eleven years later, we are still very much in love. This did not come easy, however, we have had to work hard to stay in love. We have had to work hard to keep our marriage "new." Date night, constant communication, laughter, and grace have attributed to the newness. But even then, our relationship is not new as much as it is older and better. You know what I'm saying?
I looked up the word "new" in my Bible concordance and was surprised by how many references there are for that word. As Pastor Steve said, people love new things. But obviously, God loves new things as well. The world He created, before sin was introduced, was constantly new. It never decayed. It never died.
These are just a few of the examples:
He wants to give us new hearts (never hard, calloused, and old- Ezekiel 11:19).
He is longing with anticipation the day when he can give us new bodies and new names (Isaiah 62:2, 2 Corinthians 5:1).
He wants a relationship with us that is never stagnate (it can be new every morning Lamentations 3:23)
but constantly being renewed- falling in love with the Lord again and again and again (Revelation 2:4, 2 Corinthians 4:16).
Ponder such a world. Imagine never being in pain, never aging. Imagine driving a car that always ran perfectly with never the need for maintenance. Imagine a house that never needed painting, carpet that never needed to be replaced. Imagine family members never dying, children never getting sick. Imagine being in love- always in love. Imagine waking up with your loved one- years later still being as much in love as when you first met.
This is what God has promised us. He's good, isn't He?
until soon,
b.
These are just a few of the examples:
He wants to give us new hearts (never hard, calloused, and old- Ezekiel 11:19).
He is longing with anticipation the day when he can give us new bodies and new names (Isaiah 62:2, 2 Corinthians 5:1).
He wants a relationship with us that is never stagnate (it can be new every morning Lamentations 3:23)
but constantly being renewed- falling in love with the Lord again and again and again (Revelation 2:4, 2 Corinthians 4:16).
Ponder such a world. Imagine never being in pain, never aging. Imagine driving a car that always ran perfectly with never the need for maintenance. Imagine a house that never needed painting, carpet that never needed to be replaced. Imagine family members never dying, children never getting sick. Imagine being in love- always in love. Imagine waking up with your loved one- years later still being as much in love as when you first met.
This is what God has promised us. He's good, isn't He?
until soon,
b.
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