All Things New

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut – this life – same old, same old. Drudgery, boredom, grinding hard work. It’s easy to forget the good things when you get stuck in this rut. And that’s a shame. We end up longing for change, for something new - a glimmer of hope. This desire for redemption is only natural. The question is, what does this redemption look like? Who’ll deliver it? And do you actually have it already?

Depression, anxiety, fear, worry –these destroy a proper sense of perspective. And Christians aren’t immune. Maybe we should be? But we’re not. We’ve more cause than anyone for rejoicing. So how do we tap into that? And will it help? 

We need to remember what God has done for us. The Son of God could’ve stayed in heaven and enjoyed fellowshipping with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He could’ve let us get on with life. But He had compassion on us, took on human flesh in the person of Jesus, experienced life as a human, showed us what God is like in more than words, allowed Himself to be misunderstood, mistreated, murdered. This is our God! No distant deity who doesn’t care, but one who gets stuck in. Jesus rose from the dead, guaranteeing we’ll rise with Him. He has an eternity planned for us that no human can fully imagine. We await that in faith.

Jesus made some astounding offers. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” And: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

We tap into His life by trusting in His promises, His words, in Him. He doesn’t even put a massive burden on us. He made all things new. He ended the requirement of animal sacrifice. He became the better sacrifice. In the New Covenant in His blood, death has been conquered. There are just so many great things which are ours in Christ. Some we experience now, others are yet to come.

And yet… And yet… Is this enough to make us happy? It really should be! And yet…  And yet… We live in a fallen world, we have problems, we suffer. The same was true for Jesus. Being God in human form did not exempt Him. But He’s willing to go through it with us. And He’s put his Spirit in us. And He’s made us a load of promises. And to these we can cling. And we can pray to see these promises. And we can be thankful for what He’s done. And we can seek the help of pastors and health professionals, because we can’t always make it on our own. 

So cling on… Cling on… Many things became new in Jesus. All things will become new.