Norman Vincent Peal spent New Year’s Eve in Rome. A friend warned him to stay inside his hotel for his own safety, because people have a habit of throwing old, unwanted things out their windows on New Year’s Eve. He explained, “If you should be walking down the street, you’re likely to have an old typewriter bounce off your head.” Peale looked out his hotel window at midnight and saw all sorts of items coming out of windows. Away with the old was the idea.
For many of us, a new year is a time for resolutions and getting rid of bad habits. Today is January the 8th…so far, so good! Someone was writing down New Year resolutions: “Gain weight, save less money, set realistic goals.”
Most of us feel confident about a new year and a new start. Politicians are optimistic about new legislation; economists feel positive about first quarter growth; the Red Sox are optimistic about the new season; pastors are hopeful that their congregations will renew their commitment to Christ. It’s an encouraging time of year.
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Maybe you’d like some changes to occur. The newness which Jesus brings will last. We’re ready to ring out the old, ring in the new! We learn from the past, but we choose not to live in the past. Hoping for a new beginning isn’t mere wishful thinking. We’re convinced that God is with us, that He wants what’s best for us, and is working all things together for good.
Think about Genesis and the Book of Revelation…The Bible opens with a beginning, and closes with a beginning. Creation is the first word, and new creation is the last word. The Greek word “new” in verse 5 means new and improved, better than we can imagine!
Our salvation is something Jesus has done, is doing right now, and will do. Looking ahead, we affirm the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. One day Jesus will right every wrong and create a New Earth. A new order will replace the old order, this sin-polluted, broken world of ours. We’ll have transformed, immortal, resurrection bodies--a new bodily life with new properties, not subject to disease, injury, or decay. We’ll have “bodies that are more solid, more real, more complete than our present ones” (N.T. Wright).
One way Jesus makes “all things new” right now is explained in II Corinthians 5:17, “All who are in Christ are new creations; the old way of life is passing away, and all things are in a process of becoming new.” The Holy Spirit guides our growth, in what theologians call sanctification, a transforming process, making us reflect Christ’s holy character in all we do and desire.
The newness Jesus brings about has several aspects: By His sacrifice, we have new birth; by His word we have a new direction; by His promises we have new confidence, and by His church we have new resources for spiritual growth.
God makes all things new! We have a bright new hope. We’re not yet what we should be, but we’re not what we once were--without hope and without God. Vaclav Havel, former poet, playwright and President of the Czech Republic, was a man who had plenty of time to think about hope. He was a dissident during decades of Soviet rule. As a member of the Prague Underground he was frequently arrested. Yet he maintained hope. He made the following distinction: ‘‘Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but hope is the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” We trust God, even when our situation isn’t improving.
Sometimes we think we can’t wait for change. We’re prone to improve life by means that diminish it. We can become enslaved by things we think will help us cope with the stresses of life, only to discover these things have taken over and are destroying us rather than improving our lives. Seeking control, we lose control by becoming enslaved by habits that ruin our lives.
We’re longing for our true home in this fallen world of ours. Yet renewal can start right now. I know it sometimes seems hopeless, especially after watching the evening news. I saw a t-shirt that says “Where’s the Rapture when you need it?” According to a Pew research study, nearly half of American Christians believe we’re living in the Last Days. Whether it’s soon or not, we don’t have to wait for the return of Christ for some things to be made right. And we need not live in fear. If we’re trusting the One who holds the last minute, we need not fear the next minute. The future can impact the present, because we know the outcome. We are “more than conquerors through Christ who loves us,” Romans 8:37. He makes all things new. What God will do for us He will do for our broken world--an act of new creation and the ultimate answer to the Lord’s Prayer. God’s Kingdom will come and His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Some people see a new year as an occasion to try harder…but self-effort isn’t enough. God brings about transformation, what the Bible calls the “new birth.” It’s been said, “If you’re born once, you die twice; if you’re born twice, you die once.” This new birth brings about a new perspective, a biblical outlook by which we see everything is in God’s hand…even the mysteries of life we can’t understand. King David wrote, “In sin my mother conceived me.” We are born broken, but when we’re born from Above, all things are new. We may at times feel helpless; our attempts at reform seem about as useful and lasting as New Year Resolutions. But being helpless is good news! As soon as we admit this, God has us right where He wants us.
Many people have “lives of quiet desperation.” They’re troubled about their past, fearful of the present, anxious for the future, and unable to break loose from their nagging unrest. They’re trying to cope with life by their own, limited resources, only to find that it isn’t enough. Whatever our issues or hang-ups, we need to rely on God’s grace and not our “best efforts.” Jesus can help us make peace with our past--to live contentedly in the present--and be confident about the future. When Jesus returns, He will transform our humble bodies to be like His glorified body, a new type of existence. N.T. Wright says “The risen Jesus is both the model for the Christian’s future body and the means by which it comes about…Dust we are, and to dust we shall return, but God can do new things with dust.”
What Jesus offers us is not a reward but a rescue. None of us deserve it. Jesus took the initiative in saving us while we were dead in our sins. There was nothing in us to attract such love. Our Lord paid the ultimate price for damaged goods.
Some of what I’ve said comes from the Twelve Steps. Why is this program so successful? Because Alcoholics Anonymous understands that we can’t fix our problems on our own. I asked a soldier struggling with addiction who his Higher Power was. He said, “Myself.” I told him he needed to go higher! Without help from Above, we’re like the man who had an old shotgun which he brought to a gunsmith, hoping to get it fixed up. After looking it over, the gunsmith said, “Well, this would make a very good gun if it had a new stock, and a new lock, and a new barrel.”
It’s been said that “Christianity is the land of beginning again” (W.A. Criswell).
The only way we can be mended is with a new heart from God. He changes us from the inside-out, lock, stock, and barrel! We await the dawn of a new day. We can face a new year with Heaven in our hearts. Out with the old, in with the new!
•Prayer: Lord Jesus, we want You as the center, the focus of our lives. Be preeminent in our work, our relationships, our leisure time; Your will, not our’s. Help us in our mission as resurrection people to proclaim Your Kingdom and take it seriously. We may have to say “no” to ourselves, and that’s hard. Grant us the resolve to stick to it. When we’re faithful to You it reveals who we truly are. We don’t know what this year may hold but we know that You hold all our tomorrows in Your capable hands. Our comfort is knowing you will bring us safe to harbor, to the shore of unceasing praise. Amen.
