This past week, my wife and I headed to the mountains for our 38th wedding anniversary. Spending time in such a stunning environment lifts our spirits and allows us to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and breathe some clean air—well, barring any concerns we had over air quality from a barrage of forest fires raging in different parts of the country, mostly clean air.
Last year at this time, a wildfire devastated a Rocky Mountain town that we love to visit, including a massive swath of forested area and mountain terrain surrounding it. We visited this place in late winter, and everything was still black as coal, both the trees and the forest floor. This trip, as we drove our car around to all the places that we enjoyed visiting, we were sad to witness the level of devastation caused by the fires, but at the same time, we marveled at the bright green that was beginning to show at ground level, despite everything destroyed above it.
Forgive the analogy, but this wonder of nature got me and my wife thinking about life and how, no matter the chaos around us, no matter how many things in our lives feel out of control, and regardless of how many times we end up on our knees asking God to restore, heal, and forgive us, He makes all things new, even when, at first, we may not see evidence of it. And because I love to search for relatable scripture in these situations, I went on the hunt! Lucky you!
“And the one sitting on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making everything new!’ And then he said to me, ‘Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”’ (Revelation 21:5 NLT)
“Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will ever think about the old ones anymore.” (Isaiah 65:17 NLT)
“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19 NLT)
As I snapped photographs of the burned trees rising above a fresh carpet of green fauna, I could not help but thank God for His continued work and re-growth in my own messy life. Admittedly, and perhaps you can relate, the scars in my life can sometimes feel beyond redemption—and once burned charcoal black, there is little hope of restoration. Blessedly, I could not be more wrong! Why? Because Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross for my sins, and yes, yours! His death and resurrection make all things new!
We are saved by grace through faith because Jesus loved us so much that He gave His life for us, especially when we do not deserve it. We are transformed by the power of God, which leads to a new life in Christ, a life of transformation from the ashes, and a life where He brings about new things in His perfect timing.
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)
Hallelujah to that!
Paul Smyth
