New things are awesome. Everyone loves something new. The joy of opening Christmas presents is that as you unwrap them you have an expectation of something new inside. For some the joy is diminished a little when one grows older – for dad's – socks, hanki's! cheap deodorant .... all useful though.
Imagine though, if that deodorant can or pair of socks you received on Christmas morning was already used before. That would be disappointing.
This is where we often sell ourselves short with new years resolutions. We anticipate new things and a new beginning and celebrate with excitement, and rehash the same old resolutions year after year.
Some may succeed in their endeavours, some may fail, but eventually a new year becomes just another year. I think it's time to quit the second-hand business and make space in our lives for something truly NEW.
"Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?" (Isaiah chapter 43 verses 18-19).
Something NEW
What if, this year, we discovered something new that we had no precedent for? Now that would be exciting! Something that cannot be referenced from the past, or found in the old, but can only be known in the present! A hidden spring that you have never known about, something that might just change everything.
All of us are creatures of habit; our lives reflect it and we can't deny it. New years resolutions, together with making or breaking them are usually habitual too. In order for something truly new to happen though, I believe we need to make room in our understanding (or theology) to allow the unprecedented.
I have a certain gripe with a lot of bible teachers, it comes from reading a lot of books when I was younger, especially ones on church and revival history, and it is this; The belief that because it's not in the bible it can't be true (Or their understanding of the bible).
Another one: That a new miracle is not in the scripture so it's false or of the devil. Even one of the cries of the reformation "Sola Scripture!" has its shortcomings. Namely, yes we do have to trust the canon of scripture as the rule of faith, but in doing so we also have to trust that those men who decided what was included and excluded in the scriptures were led by the Spirit, meaning by default that Spirit filled men are just as much a part of our rule of faith as the scriptures themselves.
Challenging the NEW
The Pharisees and Sadducee did not have an adequate theology to accommodate all the NEW things Jesus did amongst them, and as a result many rejected the will of God for themselves.
Christianity was founded on unwrapping a gift of a babe in swaddling clothes, a gift wrapped in flesh and blood, an acceptance of a sign and a wonder without precedent. Only when the new was accepted was the old understood.
Are we being true to the foundations of our faith? That is, to allow the unseen to be seen and the unknown to be known? All those who walk in faith finance, missionaries over two millennia are witnesses to this. Are we open to something truly new? Will we open something truly new in this New Year?
Scripture makes allowance for the never been done before, and time exists only for the fulfilment of scripture. Does not the angel cry, "There shall be time no more!" when the mystery of God is finished? (See Revelation 10). When Jesus fulfilled all the law and the prophets didn't He enter his eternal Glory, outside of time?
Whether your eschatology has you shooting off somewhere in the sky, or hanging around on earth in the day of the LORD, There will be strange and unprecedented signs and wonders in heaven and earth BEFORE it comes. So, as everyday is one more day closer, someone is going to see some strange new things!
Write down your resolutions this new year, stick to them if you can, but why not make space for something to happen that has never happened before, something you have no reference for at all. Trust that the NEW thing that happens your way, the unexpected, just might happen, even spring forth.
Christians kind of expect this! Someone surprises you by coming to Christ. A financial crisis is averted through something totally unexpected. A thousand things. The bible tells me so ....
Blessings for 2016.
Joshua Robbie is from the Gold Coast Australia where he runs a painting and decorating business. He recently started a church fellowship with his wife Rene' in Currumbin Queensland. Though he has many interests, including basketball and surfing, he with Rene' have determined to give themselves in service to the kingdom of God in all aspects of life. ........
Josh Robbie's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/josh-robbie.html