Once upon a time there was a Savior who made all things new…

I love when a good story ends with all things being restored. When spells are broken, when everything is set right, made new.

In Revelation 21:5 John writes that from his throne God spoke the words, “Behold, I make all things new.”

This is one of my favorite verses in scripture because it reminds me that here, in this life, in this story that God is writing for us, he is continually working, continually restoring, continually making us new.

I’ve only seen the movie The Passion of the Christ once or twice, but there is a scene I remember vividly. As Jesus carried his cross to The Place of the Skull, he spotted his mother, Mary, in the crowd following after him.

With the weight of the cross, of the world on his back, he stops and says to her, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

I know this account is more theatrical than it is biblical, but I like the idea behind it. I like the thought that even in the middle of his pain and suffering Christ’s mind was set on his mission to set the captives free. His mind was set on us.

At the start of this new year we may not be able to see the transformative change in our lives that we see in the happily- ever-after endings of fairy tale stories. Indeed, many of us, all of us, carry our own cross of burdens and suffering into 2014.

But, behold, we can also carry Christ, and in him we can find a Savior who is with us in the burden, who is with us in the suffering.

By setting our minds, our lives, on him and the work he is doing in us, through us, and around us, we can find new focus, new hope, new grace for this year.

This New Year’s Day, may you wake up to the fairy tale found in the start of a new year, in the chance for new focus, new hope, new grace. May you wake up to a Savior who makes all things new.

May you set your heart on him.

In light of the new year, and making things new, I am taking a short break from my regular posting schedule. I will be back on Sunday, the 26th, with NEW posts for you! Happy New Year! May it be blessed from beginning to end.