Larger Story 6

1.Who is God?

A perfectly happy community of 3 Persons whose nature is holiness and way of relating is love.

2. What's He up to?

Glorifying Himself by beautifying us.

3. Who are we?

Gender unique image-bearers of God who....

4.What's gone wrong?

...gave away the capacity to desire, know, love and enjoy God. This disconnect is the deepest source of all that is wrong.

5.How did God remedy the problem?

He implemented a New Covenant by giving us a new Start (forgiveness), a new Heart (real life), a new Identity (adoption) and a new Power (the Holy Spirit) through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

New.

I'm really just siting here looking at that word I just typed. A lot is flooding in. I think I'm struggling a bit with the vast spectrum that is connected with the word "new".

New baby.

New socks.

New marriage.

New car.

New focus.

New day.

New granddaughter:)

New toothpaste.

New Christ follower.

New year.

New conflict.

New.

Press in for a second. Let's keep it real. You sort through your sock drawer. You finally pull out those three pairs of socks that are your favorites. You've avoided throwing them out. You've been willing to keep wearing them and bare with that one little cool spot where the hole is when you walk on the tile floor. But today you finally do it. You have just thrown 'em in the trash can and..... you snap the little plastic binder on a new pair of merino wool socks. You fold 'em inside one another and stick em' in your sock drawer. And you know, you're glad. You threw away the old and you folded in the new.

Keep going. My turn. The first time I held Emma. Oh my heart. She's our granddaughter. The new of a girl baby. The new of a grandchild with Lea. The new of watching our oldest son press into the new of being a new dad. I can't even begin to flow the reality of the impact of this newness on my heart. It stirs my inner life so much. It's a new relational storyline that is being opened up for my heart to experience, grow in, add to and intentionally consider.

Ok. Socks and Emma. Audible laughter. Both are the themes of new. Who am I picking? Of course you see how silly this is. The value of Emma in my life is so strong and real, it's laughable to even ponder the two together. Let's keep going.

New Covenant. A new promise from Trinity. Slither lips and humanity stained the new that would have been new forever, even though the Sovereign One already knew the garden new would fade. Right in the guts of old, worn sinful hearts came New.

New interrupts.

New bursts in.

New lights up.

New clears vision.

New ignites hearts.

Bask in this new. Nothing like it. Of course not socks. And not even Emma. Nothing like it.

In the despair of old, worn sin comes new.

Trinity offers a new...

Start. I forgive you, He says.

Heart. I love you and I am real life, He says.

Identity. I want you to be my daughter, my son, He says.

Power. I am alive in you, He says.

SCREAM! It's that unfathomably good.

New Start. New Heart. New Identity. New Power.

Keep going still more. Listen to this declaration.

Not just in theory.

New NOW!!!!!!!!

New start NOW!

New heart NOW!

New identity NOW!

New power NOW!

New in this moment.

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Whispers shouting from a manger.

There's more.