new car

“New” Reflections – Part 6: The End of New

In Articles, Bible Reading, Spiritual Growth by Kirk Giles

A new year means new opportunities, new resolutions, and new challenges. For some of us, a new year is just the continuation of the old year. This post is part of a series of short devotionals I [wrote] for Impactus | Promise Keepers Canada. Each reflection will focus on a particular Bible verse that has the word “new” in it. I hope it will encourage you and give you some helpful perspective as we launch in to a new year.

2 Peter 3:13: But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

I love new things. There’s something about the smell of a new car or the thrill of unwrapping a gift you have had on your wish list. Have you ever noticed we enjoy something new for a while, but then we grow tired of it and want the next new thing? What if our desire for new is really a glimpse to a deeper issue in our soul?

The Bible promises a day where we will no longer need the new because we will receive something greater than anything we could obtain in this life. I wonder if our desire for new is really a soul longing for what can only be found when God makes all things new.

None of us need to search for long to know life on earth is far from perfect. Yet God promises us a day when there will be a new heavens and a new earth. A time and place where righteousness will dwell and there will be no more sorrow or hardship.

For many of us, we need to pay more attention to this promise in our day to day lives. C.S. Lewis once said, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”

There is coming a day when we won’t need anything new because we will have the ultimate new life. Looking forward to that day will give you the focus and vision to live faithfully this day.

About
Kirk Giles
Kirk Giles is the co-lead pastor of Forward Church in Cambridge, ON. He was formerly the President of Impactus (when it was known as Promise Keepers Canada). However, his most important roles as a man are husband to Shannon and father to Carter, Joshua, Sydney and Samuel. He is also the author of The Seasons of Fatherhood.
Image
Kirk Giles
Kirk Giles is the co-lead pastor of Forward Church in Cambridge, ON. He was formerly the President of Impactus (when it was known as Promise Keepers Canada). However, his most important roles as a man are husband to Shannon and father to Carter, Joshua, Sydney and Samuel. He is also the author of The Seasons of Fatherhood.