All Things New
Behold, I am making all things new.
What do you see when you look at the world?
Do you see how we tear at each other’s throats? With no regard for human decency (does such an idea even exist?) we fight for our own survival, like rats in an ally, scrambling over each other in desperation for pieces of garbage. We will scratch out eyes, break bones, bite off fingers in our race for the survival of the fittest. And unlike rats, we do so with a smile and a mask of civility, pretending as if we are better than varmints.
But are we? You must be able to see it, with your view from above, shinning the light over a darkened ally to watch us scatter like a sea of deformed rodents.
Behold, I am making all things new.
In fact, we are worse than rats. They fight only for what they need, but we commit atrocities in the name of greed.
In the name of love, of money, of fame, of sex, of hate, of charity, of religion. In your name.
We commit atrocities simply for the enjoyment of causing pain. Can we say this of any other creature on the planet? We are the superior beings, and so we are capable of hating the “other,” just because they are different. We are capable of killing and raping and enslaving those who can’t fight back.
Is this the humanity you wanted to save? People who twist the knife, just to see blood?
You think this is worth saving? We are depraved creatures, worse than the serpent who slithers on the ground.
Behold, I am making all things new.
There is nothing worth salvaging about humanity. We are a clay pot, smashed on the ground. Any attempt to reassemble it results in an ugly mockery of what we could have been. It may be technically one piece, but it will never hold water again.
Behold, I am making all things new.
Just start over! Wipe the slate clean! Our sole existence is to hurt and be hurt. It would be a mercy, to erase us from existence. What does this world of pain have to offer us? What beauty can be found after the fire tears through the house?
Behold, I am making all things new.
Well, I suppose life can still grow after a forest fire. But nature is simple. There are rules it follows. It doesn’t have a choice in its own existence.
People are complicated. People can love you and hurt you at the same time. People have the power to build you up or break you with one word, and most of them don’t even realize it.
People are the reason life is simply slow death. So give up. What good can come out of us?
Behold, I am making all things new.
Yes, technically people can sometimes do good things. But how many of them choose to? Especially from an actual desire to do good, instead of just trying to impress others. And is giving clean drinking water to orphans in Africa really enough to make up for all the evil we’ve done?
We are broken people. We hurt others even when we’re trying not to. We selfishly exploit our own charity.
What’s the point in even trying?
Behold, I am making all things new.
Is it for the couple who never stops trying to sacrificially love each other? Is it for the parent who gives up their own hopes and dreams to ensure their child can realize theirs?
Maybe, it’s for the best friends who never stop supporting each other.
Or the family who sticks together through all of life’s trials.
You must be able to see it clearly, these moments of selfless love. You can see them in the times of laughter, friends and family sharing the joy life has given them. Or when all that is left is bitter tears and a friend who sits in silence to grieve someone else’s loss.
You see it every time one of these broken people chooses to keep trying, despite their brokenness and failure. Trying to make something of this life to bring healing or comfort or peace to someone else, to share love regardless of the pain that may accompany it.
You must see this clearly because you are love.
Behold, I am making all things new.
Maybe, these are glimpses of not just what we should have been, but what we can be.
We are Imago Dei, made in the image of God. It’s hard to see, through the muck and the mire.
But you recognize it, don’t you? You can see your own reflection, even in a shattered mirror. These moments and relationships and actions that showcase the design we were patterned after. If you’re looking, they can’t be missed.
Humanity may be the worst part of life, but we can also be the best. We can love and be kind and self-sacrificing. After all, we are your image, though broken, and this is who you are.
Behold, I am making all things new.
No, we don’t deserve rescue. None of us can make up for the hurt we’ve caused, but maybe deserving isn’t the same as being worth saving.
You won’t wipe the slate clean and start over, because everything you want and love is already here.
You’re in the business of putting broken pieces back together, because you see something of value in them. We can’t see it, because we’re stuck in our own faults and limited perspective. But we don’t need to see it, because you do.
All we can do is trust you to do the work.
Behold, I am making all things new.