Day 5 – All Things New

“And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.'”  -Revelation 21:5

It snowed here today.
Snow is not uncommon, but our community is not properly equipped for snow fall.  There are not enough snow plows and other equipment here to handle such things.  Thus, unsurprisingly, we received an early morning phone call from our children’s schools – School was canceled.  There is something sweet about telling our children that there would not be any school as they thrust fists into the air and then nestled deep down into their blankets once more to catch a few more slumber hours…especially the smelly teenagers in our house.

Looking out our windows today, there is a small, pure white dusting of snow on the ground, just enough to make things look clean, crisp and white.  It got me thinking – This is what our Heavenly Father does for us when it comes to forgiveness.  He wipes our slates clean.  He purifies us, and all of the hopes and possibilities become visible again because we do not have to focus on all of the guilt and shame any longer.  Of course the consequences are still there, like ripples in a pond…but forgiveness comes (through Christ alone) to make all things new within our hearts.  Everything that we cannot change…everything that we still feel guilt over…everything that we regret…everything that weighs us down and, with seemingly unbreakable chains, holds us captive…EVERYTHING is washed away, wiped clean the moment we receive and accept this gift of forgiveness from God.

The amazing thing is, that we will often need to go back to the source of forgiveness and grace, and we can receive it.  This, of course, doesn’t mean that we treat it like a get out of jail free card from monopoly, but we can still receive forgiveness when stumble along the way.

So how about it?
Are there moments right now in your life that require this cleansing once more?
Are you bogged down by the weight of sin and guilt?  It doesn’t take much to soil this cleansing – a few words of malice; entertaining impure thoughts; actions that are not God-honoring…these daily temptations come rushing in at us because we still live in this fallen world.

But hear the still small voice of God himself who says to us – Behold, I will make all things new.  This isn’t just at the end of all things, this is also true in your life today, at this very moment.  Just whisper a prayer to Him and He will glad cleanse you once again.  Our goal? Becoming the very reflection of Christ in our living…this can only be done by consciously allowing His holy presence to guide, restore and change us…We must linger moment by moment in the Master’s presence in order to fully realize this reality in our lives.

Prayer:
Lord I long for you to make all things new in my life right now.
Forgive me of these sins that creep up in my life and weigh me down.
Cleanse me once more, make my heart and mind vessels for you and you alone.  I long to be the reflection of Christ in all that I do and all that I say.  In your name I pray these things, Amen.