GodReflection: Power Word Wednesday

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” – Revelation 21:5

When it comes to toys, I like new.

I love the smell of a new car. It smells like dependable. A new computer every decade increases speed and reassures me I no longer will deal with years of old barnacle downloads. The new is clean.

A new IPhone every few years is like an extra Christmas gets inserted into life. Large screens present letters big enough to read. I tend to like the additional crutches that serve as an auxiliary to my brain. The new is helpful.

Then there is the new television. Our kids surprised us with a gift. It no longer takes two weight trainers, a furniture cart, and a U-Haul trailer to move the television. It adds new dimension to the word “color” in television. The new is sharp.

Not everyone in the world encounters new.

Some have never owned anything new and the hope of doing so is not within their reality.

For reasons known only to God I’ve enjoyed newness more times than I can count. However, I never tire of the excitement of receiving the new. I should thank Him continually.

As much as I enjoy new toys I’m smart enough to know each has TEMPORARY stamped across the manufactures’ engraved plate. Each will rust and decay.

The best news is that an eternal new is available to all who seek the heart of God. This new is no respecter of earthly privilege. It is available to the poorest of the poor. It is available to the richest of the rich.

The Apostle Paul describes a newness that can only come from an encounter with Jesus.

He remembers well his dramatic meeting on a country road. He was cleansed with new in a manner he could never have imagined.

From his Jesus encounter he reminds Roman believers; we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4).

And to churches in Corinth he teaches, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here (2 Corinthians 5:17).

This is a new that God made available as a gift of grace to anyone willing to join the walk with a new master—Jesus.

Here is what I am beginning to notice.

The word new is growing as a power word in my life. It is becoming more and more significant.

The farther down the road I walk I begin to notice that the distance over life caused my boots to wear out, blisters to appear on my feet, and fatigue to set in.

The promises of new now take on a much deeper meaning. I see the promise of Jesus as described by the Apostles Paul and Peter: 

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. – 2 Corinthians 5:1 

But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. – 2 Peter 3:13

I don’t understand why I receive new gifts while the majority of the globe’s population never has the experience of the new.

I can only pray for their encounter with Jesus who adds a greater new to all of our lives while on earth and promises a perfect new in the next reality.

I hope that whatever new I’ve receive on earth serves to wet my appetite for newness based in Jesus. I want to seek the experience of walking in newness with Jesus every day. I want to anticipate the perfect new yet to come in the restored creation.

Are you thinking more about new lately?

Stay tuned.

Dr. Gary J. Sorrells – A GodReflection on New as a Power Word.

Gary@Godreflection.org     www.MakeYourVisionGoViral.com