Wednesday, April 19, 2006

"Behold I make all things new"...what does that mean?

In the Apocalyptic Literature class that I am taking, a quote from Revelation 21 has stuck out to me. In verse 5 'The One sitting on the throne' says, "Behold, I am making all things new." How does this apply to our everyday lives? Is this being said at the end or is this for us today? Can we say that God is making all things new through the death of Christ? how can we understand a passage that seems to be as broad as everything....

I guess this is my big struggle right now, because I definatley am not new. I struggle with the same sins I was dealing with 10 years ago. I am teaching students to do things that I myself am still not victorious over, and it sucks. But God is making all things new. So why am I not new yet?

I guess the part about Revelation that we miss so often in our understanding of the text is that it is not God makes all things new or God will make things new or even God has made all things new; but God is making all things new. That means that God is in the process of making me new. The end is not God's only goal, but getting there is what is important. It's about the persistence of doing what it takes that God is concerned with.

The root of the book of Revelation is faithfullness. I think taht Revelation deals more with the concept of being faithful than it does even with the idea of victory. From the first chapter to the last, the book is a call for God's people to be faithful to his commands and to his way. Then and only then when we are faithful will we find victory.

So I guess this is what I need to think about being made new, that I am going to stumble and regress at periods of time in my life, but I need to be faithful. God is in the process of making me (along with everything else) new. When I feel like I am getting no-where maybe I need to ask where I am going; or even better if I have stopped going where I need to be heading.

What about you? Do you find it tough to be in the middle of being made new. God is using situations in your life, maybe even leading you into situations that may be tough, but on the other side you will be closer to being new. I pray that you will follow on the path of being made new.

Good Night and Good Luck-Goodbye

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