There is this house not too far from mine that was built over 100 years ago. It is a small bungalow with two bedrooms and a basement. The basement was unfinished and was still in the same shape as it was 100 years ago; dirt floors, old school farmhouse style walls, and dim lighting. When I walked into this house, I could smell the mouldy oldness. It seemed like it was in rough shape. The walls were stained from all the cigarette smoke, the floors were peeling, and the ceilings had cracks like veins all over. But what I saw as a hopeless situation, another person saw it as an opportunity to make this house new again. This person purchased the house, completely stripped everything down to the bare studs and started renovating from scratch. He put in all new walls, all new electrical lines, and all new plumbing. The old was gone… the new had come.
Over time, our lives can become like the old house. Our lives can become a mess through brokeness in our relationships, in our health, and even in our connection with God. As time passes even more, our lives can feel like change seems impossible. In our trials, we can come to a point where we almost accept that things wont change. The oldness is just the way it is, and just the way it always will be. There seems to be no way out, no answer, no hope. But there is hope.
Jesus came so that we may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). As we turn our attention and focus on Jesus, we will begin to experience this life He calls us into. He calls us to listen for Him in our lives. He calls us to search for Him in our lives. When we find Him, He will lead us into the pasture, the green fields… a new territory… a new place… a place with new hope, new life…
Paul mentions something really cool in his second letter to the Corinthians. He said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
I believe that this passage speaks to us from various walks of life. It’s not just a scripture verse for an evangelistic message given with an altar call. Some of us may have been a follower of Jesus for many years. Things were great back in the day but now it has become just “whatever”… New Life applies to you as well. With God, things are always new… There is no way we can fully comprehend God. We will constantly be discovering more as each day, as each month and as each year rolls by. Seek God… He will make all things even more New!
What are some of the things that need change in your life? Believe me, God wants to see that change as well. He is the master renovator. Turn to Him in your day of trouble, your time of trial, your state of hopelessness… He will make all things New.
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