Newness

And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Revelation 21:5

Jesus assures us that he is making all things new, which is very different than saying “I make all new things”. The latter is about taking the old out of the way and replacing it with something else, while the former is about the transformation and change of what already is, but is not as it needs to be. Jesus declares he will take what is, which in our eyes seems irredeemably and hopelessly ruined, defective, or broken, and instead renovate, restore, and remake it. He speaks not only of some things, but all things. Creation restored.

John shared this vision of Jesus and his work with a church that was experiencing a time of distress, persecution, and fear. They had urgent questions. Where was the promise of his coming, the triumph of his salvation, and his victory over the world? Wasn’t his resurrection the dawning of a new age of life winning and death defeated?

The gospel has always been difficult to believe because it foresees a world remade in ways that do not appear to be happening or even likely. We look for indications of this renewal and often cannot see even the seeds for such hope in what is occurring.

He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Isaiah 2:4

The promise of Isaiah is no less incredulous. Can the judgment of God truly resolve our hatreds and disputes so that conflict will cease? Things will be made new. The weapons are not removed and replaced with farm equipment, but are turned into tools of life instead of death.

Will Jesus fulfill what Isaiah prophesied, and dare we trust it? Too many in the church seem more interested in swords than plowshares. Conflict with others within the body of Christ, separation, and even more castigation against those without, seems to have replaced the healing ministry of Christ. Will we touch the lepers, and share the table with outcasts?

As we enter a new year, living forward into the unknown, we need to hold tightly to the gospel of all things made new, for all around us, and most profoundly, for ourselves. We can learn to trust this message not by looking forward, but by remembering what we have already seen: the babe in the manger, the child growing in wisdom and stature, the ministry of hope and healing, and the passion of Jesus as life comes from death. We see the template of all things made new, because Jesus himself lived and embodied that truth.