Hi First Presbyterian Church,
It's time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Although this has been an unseasonably warm and snowless winter unlike any I can remember since I’ve lived in New York, it is the end of January, and we are fully immersed in winter. Even though the holidays have long passed and (sadly) the Bills’ football season has ended, I do like this time of year. There is something about January and a new year that makes me feel hopeful for and focused on the future. Most years, I’m a sucker for a good New Year’s resolution! Even though it is (usually) cold this time of year, the days are actually getting longer and that feels nice.
All this reflection on fresh starts and newness reminds me of a verse of scripture from Revelation, which I have written to you about before. The author of Revelation is describing the future day when God will make a new creation, when Jesus says in 21:5, “Behold, I am making all things new!” I think I especially like this verse because of the very specific wording that is used in it. Notice that Jesus did not say, “I am making all new things.” Instead, he said, “I am making all things new.”
There is a significant difference between making “all new things” and making “all things new.” When Christ’s work of salvation reaches its completion in the future, and he destroys the powers of sin and death once and for all, he is not going to destroy you and me and the earth we live on along with it. He loves his creation. He is not going to scrap it and start over. He is going to simply remove all of its imperfections. The saving work of God is a work of renewal, not destruction. You and I are the culmination of all the experiences we’ve ever had. We cannot change the past, but we can allow God’s saving grace to work in us to make our lives and experiences (as affected by sin and death, as they are) full of meaning and beauty. The journey we’re on as a church is hopeful, because – come what may – God will renew us. Christ promises to make all things new. There is nothing that Christ cannot redeem.
Look around you. Do you see hopelessness and despair? Nothing is beyond God’s transformational love. Ask God today, “What can I do to shine your light into the world and give people the hope that is found in Christ?”
Peace to you,
Pastor Aaron