by Pastor Douglas Brauner

God Makes All Things New

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:5 New Living Translation

The owner of the car watched me take this picture. He spoke highly of this car even commenting that it still runs.

I’m still running. I’m not dead yet. However, I don’t run as well as I used to. The wheels are flat. The windows are chipped if not broken. The paint is dull, but I’m still running.

The apostle John is given a vision, not of this life, but that which is coming. He sees heaven and hears the voice of the One who is seated on his glorious throne. The voice doesn’t say, “I’ll keep you runnin’.” It says, “I am making everything new!”

Imagine what this car must have looked like the day that it was first driven off of the sales lot. Imagine its shiny paint, its perfectly shaped wheels, its flawless windows. God isn’t in the business of keeping us limping along as we lose our shine; he is in the work of making everything new. He is in the business of making you and me new.

What does that look like?

On this side of eternity, it means that God cares about transforming us from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). The words that John heard are that the One seated on his throne “is making all things new,” not “will make all things new.” We find hope that God is molding us this side of the grave.

However, he also cares about what happens to us on the other side of the grave. John hears these words at that moment when God reveals to him the extent of heaven. Finally, on that day when Christ returns, we will experience the fullness of being made new.

We will shine with the light of the King for all eternity.

So today, our hope is rooted in God who cares about our lives now and who longs for the day when we will experience the fullness of what it means to be made new.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado