Making Everything New!

When I was a kid, I loved Saturday morning cartoons.  There was nothing like having breakfast while watching Bugs Bunny and the Superfriends. Yet, when those classics were over, I would turn the channel to PBS and watch This Old House with Bob Villa.  Sometimes watching Bob restore a Dutch Colonial or Saltbox home in New England was just as engaging as those cartoons.  Because of this, today, we have entire cable T.V. channels dedicated to home restoration. I often jump on the treadmill at the gym in front to the T.V. that is always on HGTV for this very reason.  

Lately, my social media has been inundated with DIY influencers who find old furniture along the side of the road, strip off the paint, sand, and re-stain into something beautiful.  What would take days to accomplish all happens in less than a minute on the screen of my phone. 

What is it about seeing something being renewed, refreshed, and able to be used again? 

I think it is at the core of our God-given creativity and our stewardship of the things of this earth.  We don’t stop with just homes or furniture. As people of faith, renewal, refreshment, and being restored is about humans, as well.

 

In John’s vision in Revelations 21:5 he hears the voice of the Divine say,

“Look! I am making EVERYTHING new.” 

Just before that John explains this is because God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home in the lives of woman and men. This affirms that there is that of God within us all.  When we seek to renew, refresh, and restore our own lives and the lives of those around us, we are part of this creative process of making everything new. Our lives are like those run-down homes or overused furniture, and we need the help of our Friends to bring out the new life and beauty in us.  

I hope this week we will consider our part in bringing renewal, refreshment, and restoration to our own lives and the lives of those around us. We just may see the beauty once again!