What a Day that will Be!
Meditation for the week of December 30, 2012
Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." (Revelation 21:5)
We are coming to a “new” year. The designation of a new year on the calendar is really artificial. The sun defines the length of a year, but we could have started a new year any where during the year. We have designated January 1 on the calendar that we use as the beginning of a new year. We will make “new” resolutions to be be better, lighter, richer, more industrious and/or nicer. But our resolutions will likely be broken by the end of the first week. We will be the same old people, with the same old problems in a year that will look a lot like last year.
In this life, Solomon tells us that there is really nothing “new” under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). I recently purchased a “new” car. The old one had served me well but when I realized that in the last two months it had cost me about $1,000.00 in repairs, I decided I needed to consider getting rid of it. I was really kind of in love with it since I had personally been behind the wheel of that car for 150,000 miles, but it was no longer “new.” So I traded for another “new” car with an exceptional warranty so that I could budget my car expenses once again. I have only driven the car about 20 miles, but I can assure you that It is now a “used” car. Wouldn’t it be nice if something could be made new that would stay new forever?
God is the only one who is able to do that. When sin came into the world, death, deterioration and destruction came along with sin. Iron rusts, thistles thrive, people get old and die: and, in general, we live in a decaying world. But one day God is going to make all things new. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. Sorrow will be gone Death will be gone. Darkness will be gone. War will be a thing of the past. Sin and all that defiles will be gone. This will be a new era and everything will be new and will stay new. I don’t know just when and how all this will occur, but the Lord says these words are faithful and true. I believe this will actually happen, and I expect to be a part of it.
One new thing that we all need is a new birth (John 3:7). This birth gives us a new life. In a sense our calendar starts over when we come in simple trusting faith to the Lord Jesus and believe Him when He says, “He who lives and believes in me shall never die (John 11:26).” If you can’t believe the Lord, who can you believe In this life? We who have believed in Him, trust Him to save us from an eternity of misery and woe that will be the portion of the unbeliever whose sins were never put away. We also trust Him to save us for an eternity of bliss. Eternal life begins the moment we trust Christ, but it continues forever. Those who have eternal life will someday live in a new heaven and a new earth in a state of bliss and sinless perfection where all things are new.
My cars may grow old and need replacing. My old body may grow old and die. But a day is coming when I will get a new body. In addition, I will never need a new car or house. I will get to live in a place that is completely new, where sin no longer confuses and tempts us, where lies are no longer told, where government will be righteous, where light and not darkness prevails, and where happiness and not sorrow abound. What a day that will be!
I don’t know what the new year will bring, but I am expecting it to bring many of the same problems and difficulties of the past year. But one day all things are going to be made new and that is going to be a wonderful day. I hope all of you who are reading this meditation believe that what the Lord says is faithful and true. Because then and then only can you be sure that you will be a part of the new heaven and the new earth when the Lord makes “all things new”
Bruce Collins