All Things New

Every now and again, I have cross words with my children; this happened not long ago when they were getting ready for bed.  One of them exclaimed, "he's being annoying", and since this was one of many such incidents, this mummy had had enough.  I became pretty cross, and I'm not sure I quite managed "be angry but do not sin" (Eph 4:26). Both boys cried.  We did, though, push through beyond the discord, and after praying together to confess our mess and seek God's strength to do better, ended the evening on a note of hope: one day God will make all things new.

The next morning, whilst playing on Minecraft, one child wanted to show me something.  "Look what I've found in a cave!  There's a pool here and another one up there."  He'd been exploring a Minecraft 'world', and sure enough, had discovered two lovely pools in a rocky underground cavern.  "Wow", I said, "Someone's been building".  But the reply came back, "no, it's just natural".  I decided to leave it—I'm sure they do know there are game developers behind it all.  What could be 'natural' about the landscape of a digital gaming world?!

Belief in God as Creator is a foundation of the Christian faith.  Classical understanding affirms that God created everything from nothing.  This might not seem very important, but actually has big implications.  Creation from nothing means that nothing pre-existed God's creative work,  no thing existed alongside the eternal God in and of itself.  The whole of creation is completely dependent on God for its very being.

If we can begin to grasp this utter dependence, it will affect how we perceive the whole of life.  Since the very fabric of the universe only exists because God willed it to be, and I live because God gives life to creatures, how can I believe that I somehow maintain that life, in and of myself?  How then, can I imagine that I have mastery over my future, or even my present?  How could I lord it over others as though I am superior or self-sourced?  When someone hurts me, why would I try to 'make them pay', if I truly recognise my own need of God, both for my very existence and to rescue me from my own failures and inadequacies?

Sadly, we don't manage to live every single moment in conscious awareness of our need for God.  Sometimes my maternal compassion wears thin and I give in to anger.  On the other hand, after a frosty someone laid into me the other day, it took a few minutes to remember that wounded people tend to inflict wounds on others, and that I have received so much grace.  What brought me to that truth, though, was that I instinctively cried out to God in my hurt.  As tears began to roll down my cheeks, I told God how I felt about it, how unreasonable the person had been, how out of order it was.  "God, help me..." soon led to, "God have mercy on _____, who needs your healing and hope."

In acknowledging our own dependence, we find ourselves called and equipped to extend grace to others.  For those who will follow Jesus, there is always the possibility of mistakes and discord being transformed into something beautiful.  The Creator Spirit is still at work, remaking, re-creating, drawing us ever closer to the One from whom and to whom are all things.  When we bring our pain to God, confess our mess, receive and therefore give forgiveness, we have the opportunity to live out something of resurrection hope.

I don't understand it—I can't even begin to fathom it—but I can navigate painful situations and emerge whole, because nothing is outside the reach of what God can work through.  The 'natural' world, however flawed and broken, is God's creation—totally dependent upon the One whose purposes are good.  I can forgive and be forgiven by my children, not because our mess in the here and now doesn't matter, but because we have sure and certain hope that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is re-creating us even now, and one day will make all things new.⬦

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