Doing a New Thing

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

-- Isaiah 43:19 

         

If you had only 10 words to describe the Bible, timeless should be one of them. After all, one of God's repeated lessons to us through his Word is that there are certain truths and principles that are as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago. For example, it's hard to argue that we don't reap what we sow in life. If we spend our lives loving our neighbors as ourselves and otherwise make a positive difference among friends and strangers alike, good will result in one form or another. That was true then and it still is today. Nothing has changed in God's eyes.

But while His truths and principles remain constant, another ongoing Biblical theme is God's willingness to spring some surprises on those who think they know it all. Every once in a while, God likes to do a new thing. And he tends to accomplish his plans in some very unexpected ways and places through some even more unlikely people.

You can see this in both the Old and New Testaments. Moses had a speech impediment. King David was a shepherd boy. Jesus was born and spent his ministry in an obscure corner of the Roman Empire. And His disciples included fishermen, a tax collector and (depending on the translation) a terrorist. Even Paul--the great missionary who wrote several books of the Bible--initially persecuted Christians before he literally saw the light. The respectable religious authorities of his time were astonished. It just wasn't what they expected.

Indeed, God chose an unlikely bunch to spread his kingdom on earth. And He used each and every one of them in ways that have shaped our walks as Christ-followers to this very day.

As we welcome 2016, let's consider how far God brought us in 2015...and peer ahead at the many wonders that are to come. We're a reminder of how our Creator joins unexpected people, places and circumstances to achieve the greater good. God continues to do new, amazing things both among and through us. 

It's a truth that's nothing less than timeless.