Life is full of new beginnings. Some are big, like the birth of a baby and some are small like the first blooming of a flower. Every morning when we open our eyes, it is the beginning of a new day, a new chance to make a difference.
We just celebrated Easter not long ago and the songs are still stuck in my head. The one that I find myself singing the most is Don Francisco’s ‘He’s Alive’. It went the rounds on Facebook and I listened to it every time it showed up. Every time it gave me chills.
The utter, crushing despair of Peter rings through the words: ‘when at last it came to choices, I denied I knew his name.’ What hope was left for these men who gave up everything to follow a man now dead. But that is not the end of the song.
The words that make me cry every time some when Jesus appears in the locked room: ‘Every fear I ever had just melted into peace . . . He’s Alive!’
Talk about new beginnings. That Sunday morning was the most important beginning since God said “Let there be light.”
“The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” Jer 31:31
When Jesus rose from the dead, the new covenant began. And we are all partakers of it when we accept his sacrifice for us. It was, is a new beginning for every believer.
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’ Lk 22:20
At this time of the year, it all becomes real for me once more. Not only do we celebrate Easter, the ultimate new beginning, but the earth itself is coming alive. Here in Upstate New York, spring had a late start after a very cold, snowy winter. But it is here now with the grass slowly turning green, the daffodils blooming and the trees budding.
The earth is alive once more. My savior is alive still. And I am alive in him, a new creation!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Cor 5:17
What New Beginnings have you seen lately?
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Kate, I’m sitting in the airport after a VERY full 5 days. Interviews, book signings, and an amazing weekend retreat have left me physically drained but spiritually renewed. I witnessed the “new beginning” of a woman’s first-time commitment to Christ this weekend at the retreat. When she shared her testimony with me privately after the retreat, I was physically nauseous at hearing all the violence and abuse she’d endured in her lifetime. …But Jesus. He was her new beginning. What a glorious, indescribable Gift He is. The security and assurance of His love–His mercy–is new every morning.
Amen to that, Mesu:) Great post, Kate!!