RESET

That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new"? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 NAS95

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NAS95

Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. Colossians 3:9-11 NAS95

It is early January as I sit at my computer thinking about all the stuff I have heard in sermons the past couple of weeks. I sat and stared with writer's block for days now. I laid in bed thinking about this very subject again last night. I have been disturbed by these Scriptures that are seemingly at odds with each other.

Are all things new? Is anything new? Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun. Does not everything consist of neutrons, protons, atoms, nebulous, etc? Are not all new creations and new products, simply the rearrangement of existing atomic particles? That being said, what if anything, is new? I understand that things grow, but is not even growth on a sub-atomic particle basis simply the adaptation of already existing protons and neutrons, etc., into new cells?

Do you and I really create anything? I like to think as I write I am creating, but then all I am really doing is rearranging existing characters into a sentence. My thoughts may be new to me, but how do I know that someone has not already had that thought?

Take my advice on all this, don’t get too involved with this question, it will only leave you frustrated because Solomon was right. But Solomon is also wrong.

In my humble opinion, and I could be wrong so if you can prove me wrong, I am okay with that, the most powerful force in God’s creation next to God Himself, is His Grace. The unmerited, undeserved favor and Loving Kindness, of God. It is the only thing I know about that can make anything new.

We go on about a New Year as though it was a reset of everything. It is not. It is merely an artificial, arbitrary date, by which we calculate the passing of time. It is a time we reflect on the previous 365 or 366 days and then forecast how the next 365 days will be different. We even make resolutions so we can break them in the first 6o days of counting down to the next day of reflection. Right about now, if you have read this far you might be thinking “what a cynic.” You are right and wrong at the same time.

Truthfully, I am disturbed by the fact that I don’t reset on January One. I want the freedom to do it right and not be the person I am. I want to be thin, I want to be handsome. I want to be 35 again. (I have a bad case of the wannabe’s today). In this disturbed state of mind, I also come to the realization there is only one reset button that makes all things new.

Found in the verse at the start of this musing, the one from 2 Corinthians, I anyone be in Christ they are a new creature, I discover the reset button. It is that force I mention a couple of paragraphs back, that most powerful force in the universe, God’s Grace. Do not think for a second this statement diminishes the sacrifice Christ made at the cross. Without that sacrifice, the grace of God would be beyond our reach. The shed blood is what gives us the entre into the presence of the most high and Holy God, where grace can be found. It is what gives us access to the reset button.

It is the place I can go and confess my failures and receive forgiveness for my sins of commissions and omission. It is here I find healing for my brokenness. It is here I am made new.

The only way I know to get to that high and holy place is by humbling my heart before God and asking, in sincerity and repentance, for forgiveness of my failings and sin.

Maybe you heard some good sermons, talks, or inspiring speakers talk about a New way in a New Year, and found it empty already. It is okay to admit it. Let me invite you to a place of prayer before the most high God. There, and only there will you find a truly new start.