Making all things new

"And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" Revelation 21:5a (New American Standard Version)

As I sit here staring out my office window, I see the juxtaposition of life and death on both sides of my back fence.  My neighbor's evergreen citrus trees are burgeoning with life and fruit, oranges and lemons weighing down the branches of the the mature trees.  On my side of the fence, I see the bare branches of my deciduous nectarine and apricot trees, poking bony, bare, brown branches toward a cold, white winter morning sky.

Because I am old enough to have lived through more than one growing season, I know my trees are not dead, but are dormant and will soon show signs of life again.

The God who created all life on this earth made seasons, "a time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted." (Ecclesiastes 3:2 New American Standard Version)

With the busy-ness of Christmas over, and the new life and activity of spring still in the future, this is a good time for reflection and introspection.  A good time to ask God which things in my life are in a season of dormancy, but will return to life in good time.  And, which things need to die so that something new and better can be planted in their place.  Sometimes, the only way to see an increase of the good things in our lives is to allow the death of something, be it good or bad.

Jesus, Himself, spoke of of His own death in this way:

""I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds."  John 12:24 (New International Version)

If we are willing, we can cooperate with the Creator of the Universe in His task of "making all things new" (Revelation 21:5).  Of course, ultimately, this means God will create a new heaven and a new earth.  But, we can see a foretaste of that creative power and energy in our lives today, if we agree to the process.  Let's!
--Posted by Mama O.