Repurposing Me

"God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." Revelation 21:4-6 KJV

I love old things. Old people, so much more interesting to talk to...I love the lines on their faces, like roadmaps of a past too complicated for me to comprehend in one afternoon. Old pieces of furniture, hewn by hand, each piece fitted together carefully by some craftsman passed. Old photographs, yellowed with the patina of age, the expressions on the faces foreign and unfathomable. Old newspaper clippings, stories of a time and place through which my imagination takes flight. Old books, their musty smell and the texture of their pages, the way my fingers feel after I have read them.

God is in the process of taking something old (the human version of me) and making something new (a glorified me in eternity). It is not easy to refurbish something or repurpose it. Taking an old dresser, scrubbing the dickens out of it, stripping the old finish off, sanding it, rounding off the rough edges, and putting coat after coat of new varnish on it - that takes energy and friction. The creativity to envision a new use for an old object - taking that old dresser and turning it into a vanity for a bathroom sink, perhaps - takes time and thoughtfulness. My life is the same way. I am going through a period of stripping, sanding, rounding off the rough edges. When I come through to the other side of this trial, I might look a little different - negatively, a large scar on my neck, some new health problems; positively, a new outlook on life, a gleam of wisdom in my eye that wasn't there before. My priorities are already changing, and perhaps God is using this to "re-purpose" me altogether.

In the 2nd to the last chapter of the entire Bible, God is still repurposing old things. He hasn't tossed out the entire creation, sinful humans and all. Instead, He is using the pressure of this cursed world to create vessels fit for His service, making old things new. What a kind God we have! What hope we have in Him!

You turn winter into spring
You take every living thing
And You breathe Your breath of life into it over and over again

You make all things new
Come redeem and come transform
Come renew and come restore
You make all things new
And forever we will watch and worship You

~ Steven Curtis Chapman, All Things New


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