“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” French novelist Alphonse Karr quoted this proverb two hundred years ago, and it’s still true today.
In 1899, Charles Duell, the U.S. Commissioner of Patents stated that the Patent Office should close because, according to him, everything that could be invented had already been invented. Boy, was he wrong!
King Solomon lamented centuries ago in Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun.” He was referring to a mundane, everyday existence that many of us face.
According to these notable quotables, nothing is new. The earth keeps spinning, so we have a sunrise and sunset every day with usually predictable things transpiring, like going to work, fixing dinner, and filling the gas tank when the needle points at E.
Well, when we look at the weather, relationships, life, death, and everything that happens in between, we could say there’s nothing new. But I don’t believe it.
I’ve had a lot of “new” in my life. A new job, a new husband, a new baby (not lately, thank goodness!), a new house, and the list goes on and on. But I could say those things have been happening for centuries, so they’re not really new – just new to me.
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he states that if anyone is in Christ, he (or she) is a new creation. Old things have passed away and all things have become new. That’s definitely something to be thankful for.
Do you remember what you were like before Christ came into your life and made all things new? Were you as self-centered as I was? Or as uncaring about others? Maybe argumentative, contentious? Give it some thought. You’ll probably come up with several ways you became a new creation.
There are times when I’m not happy with my body or the way I look. But then I realize God made me exactly the way I am, and He’s proud of His creation. I should be as well.
So today, I’m celebrating the new me, even though the “new” me is 60 years old! When I realize my Father looked at the universe and all He created, then decided the world needed one of me, I feel special. And I’m glad He gave me this new life.
I guess all things really are new.
