Major Improvement, Or Absolute Transformation?

Have you ever watched any of those home improvement shows lately? I occasionally join my wife in viewing some of them. Besides the “drama” of these so-called reality shows, there’s actually a lot you can learn from them.

 

If you’ve never struggled with being envious or coveting, but have wondered what those vices are like, I highly recommend catching one of these shows. Invariably, the designers and craftspeople do things with home renovations and remodeling that make you think, “Wow, I wish our house looked like that!”

 If you’ve been praying, “Lord, lead me not into temptation,” maybe it would be best if you don’t watch. But if you feel confident it wouldn’t do much harm to your personal contentment scale, you might want to give it a try. The open floor plans with stunning hardwoods, immaculate “en suite” bathrooms, state-of-the-art kitchens and elaborate man-caves are wonders to behold.

 

The thing I like best about these shows is how they illustrate something God does every day: taking broken things and turning them into things of beauty. Recently we viewed a show in which the client wanted the craftsman/designer couple to refurbish his late father’s old, rundown cabin. 

 

Since I’ll never be mistaken for a handyman, seeing the mess the fellow wanted them to bring back to life, I was skeptical. If they’d asked me which tool to start the project with, I would have suggested a bulldozer. Or a wrecking ball. Of course, they chose neither of those options. Instead, they turned the rickety, broken structure, practically rubble, into a cozy, safe, beautiful testament to the fine art of home renovation.

 

Similarly – but in a far more profound sense – God does this every day. Genesis 1 tells us about His work of creation; the rest of the Bible recounts the Lord’s continual work of re-creating. Taking broken, sinful individuals and turning them into “new creations,” as 2 Corinthians 5:17 states. This is hardly rare. I’ve met thousands of men and women whose lives have been changed for all of eternity after their encounters with Jesus Christ.

 

They range from the battle-scarred Marine, who now devotes his life to helping military vets struggling with PTSD and other issues, to the business executive whose life’s passion once was profits but now is pointing others to purpose and meaning through the Lord. 

 

The Scriptures are filled with examples of miraculously changed lives, including Abraham, whom God promised would become the father of many nations; David, who rose from a caretaker of sheep to the king of Israel; Nehemiah, a king’s cupbearer who directed the rebuilding of Jerusalem; impetuous Peter, becoming one of the primary leaders of the first-century Church; and Paul, who transformed from persecutor of Christians to a fearless preacher of the Gospel.

 

One difference, however, between the HGTV-style productions and God’s work is that instead of trying to fix and improve upon the original, the Lord starts all over, building new creations from scratch spiritually. Romans 6:4 declares that as we receive Christ and identify with His atoning sacrifice on the cross, “just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” 

 

Several verses later, the apostle Paul, writer of the letter to the church in Rome, says, “The death [Jesus] died, he died to sin once and for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:10-11). God’s call on our lives is not to work harder and try to do better, but to live out the new life graciously given to us through Christ.

 

New and absolutely transformed – these are God’s specialties. Even in the Old Testament, God said, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19).

 

His work of transformation, replacing the old and broken, continues throughout the Bible, including its last book, Revelation: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband…. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4). Sounds like a whole lot more than a home makeover! 

Good Ole Song for a Good (or Not So Good) Old Year

Do you know who old Lang is? You know, the person whose sign they always sing about on New Year’s Eve? Old Lang’s sign?

All right, it’s actually Auld Lang Syne, but what’s that mean, anyway? In case you were wondering – and we’re told inquiring minds want to know – I looked it up. It comes from the title and key phrase of a 1788 Scots poem by Robert Burns. Traditionally sung on New Year’s Eve in many parts of the world, “auld lang syne” literally translates to “old long since.” Basically, “days gone by.” 

I remember years ago hearing bandleader Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians orchestra playing this bittersweet reverie leading up to the moment when past and future intersect, as “Father Time” passes the torch for the coming year:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o’ auld lang syne.

If nothing else, the song gives people a reason for toasting with their favorite beverages in remembrance of days gone by and looking forward to days yet born. I don’t think the tune is sung or performed at any other time of year. Christmas carols are heard for weeks (okay, months) before they’re instantly turned off on Dec. 26, but “Auld Lang Syne” gets only a one-night stand.

It seems fitting to pause and reflect on old acquaintances and key events of the past year before charging into the new one. Many of us have good friends and loved ones who left this life during 2018. They are missed. We’ve got happy times and achievements to remember with joy; and there are the moments (or extended periods) during the year for which we now can say, “Good riddance!”

From a spiritual perspective, it’s good to remember what the Lord has done over the past year. In one of his psalms, King David was going through a time of intense opposition and needed a reminder of God’s faithfulness. “So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed. I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land…. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:4-8).

Perhaps that sounds like you as we prepare to close out one calendar year and turn the page to the next. It does help to recall great things God has done in the past, for us and others, trusting He remains faithful and will do similar things in the coming days. 

At the same time, we’re admonished not to get stuck in the past and let it darken our expectations for the future. In Isaiah 43:18-19, the prophet wrote what God had spoken to him: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

In some ways the beginning of a new year doesn’t necessarily mean a totally fresh start. Projects unfinished over the past 12 months will need to be continued even as we flip calendars. For most of us, the job we had on Dec. 31 will be the same one we report to on Jan. 2; strained relationships at the close of the old year will still require attention – and hopefully, healing – in the new.

Nevertheless, the onset of a new year still gives us reason for renewed hope. We can start afresh, trying again with strengthened resolve and determination. Best of all, we have the promise of 2 Corinthians 5:17 that applies to our everyday lives: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!”

So the next time someone asks, “What’s new?” we can answer, “Me!”