“And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’”—Revelation 21:5

Lately I’ve been hearing the saying “It is what it is!” more and more. Perhaps you are hearing it, too? I’ve even said it myself.

And there is a kind of simple truth to it, but it seems too fatalistic to me. It implies that what is must be what will be.

And since I belong to a community that believes in unexpected miracles, I don’t know what will be. None of us does. We didn’t get to choose when we were born and we don’t know when we will die. We don’t know the future.

But we do know the reality of the God who is making all things new.

The Bible is not a story about the triumph of human accomplishment. There are few heroes in its story. Its story, which is our story, is a different kind of story. It is a story of unexpected miracles, implausible outcomes, improbable second chances. It is a story about ordinary people becoming caught up in extraordinary events.

It is above all the story about God, who uses those ordinary people for God’s own purposes, which are hidden and unpredictable.

It is true that our world is terribly broken now, but what is doesn’t have to be what will be.

As we stand on the brink of another year let us pay special attention to the places in our world, and in our lives, where God is making things new.

Prayer: Renew and restore us, O God, as you make all things new in the New Year, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(This is my United Church of Christ Daily Devotion for December 31, 2018. To see the original go here. To subscribe to the UCC Daily Devotional and receive it every day by e-mail go here. Photo meme: R. L. Floyd, 2019)