I don't know about you, but for me, new things are exciting. Now before your defenses go up, I'm not leading up to tell you about how we need/want to start some new program or way of doing church. I'm just talking about simple newness. A new jar of (creamy) peanut butter. New sprouts in my garden. New grass coming in after the winter has turned green to brown. New life.
Both of my families are in a season of new. In my own family, our girls are starting school together in the same class for the first time. For those who don't already know, we are expecting a new baby in February of next year. As the girls get older, our little conversations have taken on new substance and depth. Having children has facilitated a new facet of home life and relationship between Joanna and myself.
New is also the order of the day for our church family. A new building is being built due to a fire. A new man is sharing the Word of God since our previous pastor's departure. We have learned to embrace a new way of "doing church" as a result of limited educational space. All in all, "new" has become the new norm lately.
I have been recently reading in 2 Corinthians 5 of the ministry of reconciliation that all believers share. In verse 17, Paul tells the Corinthian church that, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." To be "new," means that there has been a change. Whatever was before, is something different now. For humanity, Christ's atoning sacrifice and resurrection means that the old system of laws and repeated sacrificing of animals for atonement is finished. New life, forgiveness, and hope is available for those who are willing to submit to Christ as Lord and Savior. For believers, we have a new mission and purpose. Paul goes on in verse 20 to say that we are now "ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us." Our full time job, regardless of what we do to pay bills, is to tell the world of this new hope found only in Christ.
For many in our area, the school grind either has begun today or will begin later this week. What opportunities could God have prepared for students as they start back to school? What conversations need to happen between classes or in the lunch room? For the rest of us, what would God have us do to cooperate with Him to reconcile people to Himself? Whatever it is, new is exciting and certainly good.
