“So, what’s new?” When’s the last time someone asked you that? It’s a valid conversation starter. But it’s embarrassing if nothing comes to mind.
There’s an excitement that usually accompanies the idea of ‘new.’ Think about the experience of getting a new car. If you’re a traveler, being able to go someplace you’ve never been before. A new job, especially if you’ve felt stuck in your old one, can reenergize us. New clothes, a new smartphone, a new house – even a new book – can bring smiles to our faces.
Just days into the new year, we still have the opportunity to revel in the new: a new beginning, a fresh start. A phrase in Latin, tabula rasa, means ‘blank slate.’ Do you want a tabula rasa? Even if last year was a good one, we can hope this new year will be even better. In some ways the beginning of a new year seems like receiving a surprise gift – we can’t wait to see what’s inside.
Did you know that God is all about beginnings, too? We see it throughout the Bible from its very beginning. Its first sentence reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). How’s that for a splashy beginning? The next verse tells us it had been the original blank slate: “Now the earth was formless and empty.…”
We might compare this to a painter’s blank canvas, or a sculptor’s block of granite that hasn’t yet felt the first tap of a chisel. Just multiply this by billions, even zillions of times.
The Creation account proceeds to tell us about God creating light, separating it from the darkness; skies and seas; the earth, vegetation and all living things; the sun and the stars – the universe in its entirety. Think about it: Even the most creative artist or composer starts with something – things that he or she has learned or held, seen or heard – but the Lord created absolutely everything out of absolute nothingness. It stretches our own imagination to the breaking point.
But the opening chapter of Genesis isn’t the only place we read about God’s delight in new beginnings. The gospel of John opens with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1-2), clearly referring to Jesus Christ. This means Jesus didn’t suddenly appear 2,000 years ago with His incarnation, the event we just celebrated.
The second member of the Trinity was right there in the very beginning of time, actively participating in the Creation. We know this because John 1:3 declares, “Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.” Another of the apostle John’s writings offers this perspective: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life” (1 John 1:1).
So, the excitement and enthusiasm many of us feel about the start of a new year is shared by the Lord, to a much greater, more profound extent. Because the Scriptures tell us His greatest work, His most important ‘fresh start,’ is what He accomplishes in human hearts like yours and mine.
Two of my favorite verses affirm this. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we find this amazing promise: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” In God’s divine plan, far more than a new year, His focus is on creating a new you. Galatians 2:20 expands on this, stating, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” In Christ we can have new life.
For those who have been convicted of their brokenness, realizing it’s impossible to overcome on our own what the Bible calls our “sinful nature,” the Lord offers victory once and for all, by being “born again,” as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3.
But what about those of us who have experienced new life, but for whatever reason have grown stale or find ourselves in spiritual doldrums? Kind of like the church at Ephesus, described in Revelation 2:4 as having “lost your first love.” Do we need to become born again…again?
The Scriptures instruct us that along with new beginnings, God is eager to offer us re-beginnings, spiritual renewal that everyone needs from time to time. We see this in Isaiah 40:31 which asserts that, “…those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
If this is where we find ourselves, in desperate need of renewal, some initiative on our part is necessary. Romans 12:2 admonishes, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
As we train our thoughts to focus on the Lord and His truth, then we can trust He will answer for us the prayer of King David: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:10-12).
Whether we need a totally new beginning or a fresh start for this new year, Jehovah Jireh – the God who provides – is posed to respond.
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