The inflatable tail of my squirrel costume extends above my head and forces me to sit up straight as I drive the school bus onto the playground. Behind me sits my good friend Brandon, dressed as Luigi from the Mario Brothers theme.
Behind him is a cooler full of popsicles, and as we pull up over the curb, and round the corner.
I am honking the bus' horn and flashing the stop sign; Brandon is hanging out the door screaming for children to follow us.
There is a brief moment of suspended motion as the children process what is happening. Then comes the scream, and the subsequent charge as they rush the bus to receive their extra special popsicle.
But as I park the bus and move to the rear in order to dispense the goods, there are a number of voices, which receive a popsicle, claiming, “You did this last year!”...
The implication is, “this was so last year,” “been there done this,” “where’s the new?!” With such statements a part of me wants to snatch back the treat, scold them for their entitlement, and move on to more grateful children. And yet, I also hear their cry. Though we upgraded from minivan to school bus the effect is more or less the same, and it is natural to some decree for it to wear off slightly. What is more, Brandon and I both have earned a reputation with these children of pushing the envelope, of going for the more, the fresh, the new, and they have high expectations. This is good and healthy and I want to protect it. In fact, I need more of it.
I serve a God who is all about new. Some of the last words God gets in the Bible, are, “Behold, I make all things new!” The word new means fresh, not as in temporality, but as in content, in substance, in style, in flair. “I make all things new.” In Him I get to be a new creation, a fresh creation, and more and more I am convinced a daily fresh creation. I have recognized in life the increase of connection I have with God when I am doing something new. When creating, when exploring, when exploding, I have a clear awareness of His presence I lack when just going through the motions. In fact, it seems no matter how hard I try to be aware of Him when going through the motions, I somehow find myself wandering in and out of closeness. Just this last week our family has been sharing over dinner the ways in which we notice God each day.
I’ve been struck as my eldest Eli shares because every day he notices God with him when he is doing something risky.
I don’t believe this a coincidence. God is manifold. He is ever new.
As I have conversations with adults about reengaging childhood in their life, the common pushback I get has inevitably to do with the lack of newness the world offers. For kids the world is big and new and thus wonder is easy, dreams are easy, hope is easy, but once you’ve been there done that, it just isn’t the same. Here I can preach, and rightfully so, gratitude as a key to unlocking wonder and amazement in every day scenarios. And yet, more than ever I am willing to agree and simply say the main problem is we no longer live new lives as adults. We lose our freshness, but it is not inevitable.
I have much to say on this subject, and actually see the historic pendulum swing of rebellious, adventurous creativity vs. moralistic, comfortable structure as the main engine through which God is powering his world renewal, but for this blog I simply want to say we have a responsibility to live the new every day.
The insatiable human appetite for adrenaline, for adventure, for more wildly delivered popsicles is not evil, it is Divine.
The Bible tells me there is no end to the increase of His Kingdom, which means his statement, “Behold I make all things new,” is a statement of character, not completion. God is Creator, and will for always be Creator. God is Renewer, and will for always be Renewer. I am made in His image, today is a new day, a fresh day, and it is His will for me in this day to be like Him, to do not just some things, but all things new.
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