So, what’s new?
As we move into 2020, I started to think about the word “new”. After all, it is a new year! But, when does “new” transition to “old”? We know as soon as you drive a new car off the lot, it becomes old, at least in terms of value. For our children, new toys on Christmas morning are old by the end of the day. How does God define “new”?
What I found interesting is that because God lives outside the box of time, and is past, present, and future all at the same time, He is eternally and permanently new! And His M.O. (modus operandi) is making things new! We can contrast that with what Solomon writes in the book of Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun.” and “That which is has already been and that which will be has already been.” This basically means that man can’t produce “new”; only God can. And the “new” that God produces is eternally new!
God knows how drawn we are to new because we are made in His image and likeness, and He desires new for us! He spoke through various prophets about this desire of His. He wants to give a new heart and a new spirit to His people; He puts a new song in the mouth. Because we waffle so much between the old and the new, His mercies are new every morning. Eventually He will give each one who is in relationship with Him a new name and will make a new heaven and a new earth in which we’ll live. All of these are new by His definition; they never get old.
Jesus, whose coming to earth in flesh we just celebrated last month, came to introduce God the Father to us. Because of this responsibility, God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Jesus in bodily form. That means that everything God is, He was in Jesus, and that included the desire for “new” for us. So, Jesus came with a new teaching—one with authority—that introduced a new covenant. He brought and taught a new commandment which He obeyed Himself. In His obedience, He died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died and was raised…Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come!
His teaching, the covenant, the commandment, are eternally new; they never get old. The same is to be true for us as new creations; we are new and have a new self. Our minds are being renewed in the image of our Creator. This new creation is eternally new!
As we embark on 2020, God’s expectation is that we walk and serve in newness of life. We want that for each of you who are so vital to the mission, as you support the mission via prayer and donations of time, effort, items and funds. We want that for our staff and volunteers as well, as we work with those who are currently eternally homeless and who struggle with being under the influence of alcohol and drugs, instead of living lives under the influence of the Holy Spirit! In 2020, let’s allow the Holy Spirit to lead us on in our eternally new lives as we bring glory to God via the kingdom work He has prepared in advance for us to do.
In His service—by His grace and for His glory,
Todd Van Ryn
Executive Director
