Going From ‘Auld Acquaintances’ to New Opportunities

“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.

Chafing at the Challenges of Change

Change can be a hard thing. A very hard thing. Whether it’s changing systems for doing things in a business, abandoning long-standing traditions, seeing children grow independent, or embracing the latest technological advances (my personal favorite), it’s often difficult. Many of us find comfort in the tried and true and familiar, reluctant to release the old and embrace the new.

The prospect of "new," requiring change
can be exciting - or frightening.

I felt that way before transitioning from an electric typewriter to a desktop computer a few decades ago. I had shifted from a manual typewriter years earlier, but moving to a computer seemed like a quantum leap. (A leap I celebrated almost immediately.) Then came the time to abandon my film camera for a digital version, another major adjustment that within a very short time had me wondering, “Why did I take so long to do this?” Once I had made these changes, there was no hesitation, no looking back.

Over time even changes can become entrenched, resistant to further change. Take, for example, the Sunday night church service. When a question is raised about when it was started, a number of answers have been suggested, but apparently one reason was a very practical one. In the mid-1800s, when gaslights were nearly universal, electric lights were rare. Some churches, attempting to appeal to people that didn’t attend church, decided to invest in electric lighting as a way of attracting the curious – and hopefully seeing them return on a regular basis.

Sunday school is another change that over time became institutionalized. In 1780, a fellow named Robert Railey in London, England had become burdened for the welfare of impoverished, illiterate children. Seeking to provide help in educating them, Railey enlisted the aid of a number of women to teach reading to these youngsters on Sunday mornings – creating a “Sunday school,” using the Bible as the text.

Before long, 100 children were attending the weekly reading classes, and when other Sunday schools were established, that number swelled into the thousands. By 1831, it’s reported more than one million children were being taught to read – and learning about God in the process – through these innovative schools.

Today, of course, much of that history has become forgotten, with Sunday night services and Sunday school becoming fixtures in many churches large and small. To suggest abandoning them in many congregations would seem tantamount to heresy. “Doesn’t it say somewhere in the Bible, ‘Go therefore and attend Sunday night worship services and Sunday school’? Maybe in 2 Babylonians, or the book of Hezekiah?”

That’s not to speak ill of these and many other well-intended, firmly established practices aimed at edifying and equipping the faithful. But as has been observed more than once, it sometimes seems the seven last words of many churches have been, “We’ve never done it that way before!” Why experiment with something new, innovative and unfamiliar when we’re so comfortable with “business as usual”?

Maybe we should because, as Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Just as summer turns into fall, and then to winter, before completing the cycle to spring, seasons for everything come and go. There’s value in periodically pausing to re-evaluate anything we’re doing. Maybe they’re fine as they are; maybe they could stand a bit of tweaking; or maybe they’ve outlived their usefulness. How will we know unless we take the time to regroup and reconsider our what’s and how’s and why’s?

In Isaiah 43:18-19 God declares, “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of 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 wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

And speaking of followers of Christ, the Bible declares, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Even God knows when it’s time for a change, when out with the old and in with the new should be the order of the day.

So while change sometimes seems daunting, often it proves to be the best thing that could have ever happened. So if you’re chafing at the prospect of some kind of major change, fearing it could be too great a challenge, at least give it serious consideration before discarding the idea. Who knows? God just might be initiating a new thing in your life.