When
our daughter was little, she loved a Fisher Price doll named Honey. She slept with Honey and “Freckles,” a
flannel blanket with tiny flowers, every night for years. Over time, Honey became so worn that her “cloth skin” was fraying with the
white stuffing starting to show.
Although loved no less, Honey’s appearance was far from new.
That
tidbit came to mind as I thought about the word “new,” and how I love the start
of a new year. It seems to offer us a
chance to have a new start, to begin a new activity, finally to get something
right we have been struggling with, etc.
Just putting the adjective “new” in front of a word—new car, new house,
new position, new neighbor—makes it seem like something better and full of
possibility.
Newness
by God’s design and implementation is central to walking the way of Christ in
the power of the Holy Spirit. Old
Testament writers looked to a new day, a new development in our walk with
God. “I’m going to give you a new
heart, and I’m going to give you a new spirit within your deepest parts. I’ll remove that rock-hard heart of yours and
replace it with one that’s sensitive to me” (Ezk. 36:26 NIV). Many translations say the new heart will be a
heart of flesh, but this translation is more explicit, indicating a chance of
greater intimacy with God.
Jesus
talks about the new birth (born again) and Paul vividly describes our new
state: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become
new. A favorite section in Hebrews also speaks
of newness: “Therefore, brethren, having
boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way .
. . let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith . . . “ (Heb.
10:19-22). We can come into God’s
presence, seek His face, listen for His voice, and place our petitions there in
a new way, full of possibilities “born of faith,” (favorite phrase of mine from
a favorite prayer). Thinking on God and
His promises anew should awaken within us a greater expectancy (Ps. 62) and
faith than we had before.
A
few years ago, Jim had Honey restored as a surprise for Bonnie. She is much improved, no more fraying. Now, in Christ, we can be made new and restored
by His marvelous resources. Paul tells
us to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will
of God” (Rom. 12:2). We, too, can be
mightily changed, no longer behaving and believing like “mere men” (1 Cor.
3:3).
Although
we may be carrying some “old honeys” into 2016, let’s seek Jesus, let’s seek
that renewal of heart and mind, that higher ground of faith and expectancy in
this new year.
