the storyline of scripture, pt 7

“Behold, I am making all things new.”
- Jesus in Revelation 21:5

Yesterday, when I walked from my baggage car over to the office (it takes me about 15 seconds to get to work), one of the ladies who works there, Gina, was struggling to get the door open. She had several things she was trying to carry inside that she had to set down to unlock the door. As she attempted to gather all of her items back up in her arms I realized that she seemed to be a bit distraught. I got in the office just as she was setting all of her things down. When she turned from the counter and I could see her face it was clear to me that she was upset about something. I did not have to ask for an explanation because she quickly informed me why she was distressed. On her way to work she ran over a squirrel in the camp driveway. She told me that the squirrel darted one way and then darted the other, seemingly incapable of making up its mind. As she looked in the rearview mirror she saw lying in the road what she hoped was a stick. Unable to tell if the squirrel had made it, she turned around to see what the object was in the middle of the road. Alas, it was the poor squirrel that she had just run over. Gina was upset, and while I kind of wanted to laugh at how worked up she was, I refrained. As she asked Rodney to remove it from the road so that she wouldn’t have to see it, I was reminded of Scripture. I figured it wouldn’t be inappropriate to share, so I turned to her and said, “Gina, all of creation is groaning with longing, waiting for the revelation of the sons of God. One day, this won’t happen anymore.”

The fourth, and final, plot movement in the storyline of Scripture is that of the New Creation. Redemption’s end is everything made right. The end of the world is not chaos and destruction – it is rebirth and newness in perfection. The salvation of the cross of Christ has made possible redemption for not only man, but for the entire cosmos.

When I speak of the New Creation I am speaking of that which God will make in the days to come. He has promised that all is seen shall be remade into something even more glorious than it was even in the days of Eden (Romans 8:19-23; 1 Corinthians 15:37-41). The idea of the New Creation is closely related to the idea of the Kingdom of God. The two are connected. The Kingdom refers to God’s rule in the hearts of men through Christ. The New Creation is the redemption that is experienced in the whole of the universe as the Kingdom of God spreads. For now, the Kingdom and the New Creation is primarily seen in changed lives of people and in the communities that they form (the Church). But one day, that same redemption that will be made complete among people shall make everything that we see, and know, into something new and glorious. I like to refer to that something glorious as “Glory.” Thus, I occasionally use the phrases “I’ll see you in Glory” and “it’s a glimpse of Glory.” I think I will write another post about glimpses of Glory...

This idea that we experience Glory now in part, but will one day experience it in full, should not be an idea that seems too foreign to us. It is the same idea that we are conveying when we talk about the distinction between sanctification and glorification in the life of a believer. Sanctification is the idea that we are being made holy in a process, but are not yet fully holy. Glorification is the notion that one day we will be made fully holy – at that point sanctification is complete. The same idea applies to the universe that we see. It is not yet freed from bondage, decay, and futility. But the event of the cross has already set into motion the events that will bring about the freedom of creation so that it may experience the glory of the sons of God (Romans 8:19-23). When that happens heaven will come down and be made new and joined together with the material world that we see (Revelation 21:1-2).

The part of the story about the New Creation shouldn’t be forgotten. It needs to be told. It is our future and our hope. It is the promise that the pain we see and feel won’t always be here. It is the promise that our tears will be turned to laughter. It is the declaration that we will be joined together with the people of God. It is the guarantee that we will once again join our God for a walk in the cool of the morning. It is the end and purpose for which Christ died. It is the reaping of the harvest of which Christ’s resurrection was the firstfruits.

It is the day when Gina will kill no more squirrels...