All Things New part 2
To continue our study of Revelation 21:5, "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," I want to focus on the part that goes like this: "All things new." And my thought is this: God did not make all new things. He made all things new. It's not about giving up on one thing and starting something different. It's about renewal. Resurrection. It's about giving life to the dead. So when, "...he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee," (Hebrews 13:5) I'm pretty sure that also means, "I willl never give up on thee." God doesn't just throw us away and move on to the next thing. And God doesn't make mistakes. I think if we really understood just how fearfully and wonderfully made we are we wouldn't look at ourselves the way we do. I think we would celebrate the things about ourselves (and each other) that make us who we are. We would stop trying to fit in because we would know that we were made to stand out. And we would stop giving up on ourselves (and each other) and we would just try again. The only true failure is failure to try, right? How many stories are there about inventors who "failed" over and over again before they succeeded? Because it seems to me that most of the time we have to do it wrong before we can do it right. That's called learning and growing. And, listen, some things do come naturally to people. But even still, practice makes perfect, right? (Or, as my Coach of a father might say, "PERFECT practice makes perfect.) The point is, when He that sat upon the throne made all things new--on the cross, 2,000 years ago, all by Himself with no help from you--He didn't just start over. It SEEMS like that's what happened with Noah and the ark and the flood, but really there's a lot more to it than that. The water washed the world clean, if I can say it that way. Or if I can let Jesus say it this way, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you" (John 15:3). The Word, of course, being love. Love is what cleanses us. Love is what brings us from death to life. It is literally the difference BETWEEN death and life. Love is what renews us. Love is what makes all things new. Think about a situation. Any situation. Now add love to it. The situation doesn't need to be thrown away. It simply needs to be made new. The same... but not the same. Life... but Resurrection Life. Abundant life. Eternal life. Everlasting life. Jesus' life. A life of knowing (and believing) that you are loved, and loving other with that same love. Receving and releasing the gift of God, and in that way EXPERIENCING and ENJOYING the gift you've been given. You ARE clean because of the Word. Because of love. So stop trying to change. Stop trying to "turn over a new leaf." Stop trying to be someone you're not. Stop trying to clean up your act and just let the perfection that is already in you BE in you. Because if you're focused on "bad behavior," even in an effort to not do it... what you magnify is what manifests. So just let what's inside come out. Let the LOVE inside come out. You ARE clean. You ARE new. God hasn't given up on you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. You are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. He just wants YOU to know that. And in knowing, BE that!