What's New? by P. Ravenhill

What's New?
By Paul Ravenhill

This year is no longer new - but it is still young as it stretches before us in its untraveled length of days.
Still new in its independence upon years past.
New to be built upon God Himself alone.
New to be filled each day with the working of God's creation -
and not filled with our own plans and projects, like an attic filled
with the junk of our lives.

Looking ahead two pictures come to mind...

The first is a picture of unbroken sand, wet and shining... and the thought that crowds upon me is that the sand represents the beckoning future - a journey which forces itself upon us as each new day dawns.
Without the reality of the presence of God, each day is only one step more into the endless reaches of the Quicksand which devours the nations and generations of men.
But with the presence of God each day is born and presented to us as a new creation fresh from heaven to be filled with a fullness of love and faith on our part, and a fullness of love and mercy on God's.

The second picture is of a plain and a city "great and walled up to heaven". I think that this first city, Jericho, was symbolic of all the conquest of all the land to be inherited.
There lies before each one of us land to be inherited... and the walls
never get lower, and the challenge never gets easier.
The walls are always "up to heaven"... there is no way for man to pass over them.
The walls are always founded upon the earth... there is no way to go under them.
The walls are all round the city... there is no way to go around them.
Now, as then, only God can leads us into the strong city.

As in this past year our society has seen the protecting hand of God lifted in a measure...
as, here in South America, Argentina descends into chaos... as situations of crisis spring forth around the world, and the man built Babel of our civilization starts to unravel and show the flaw of its true nature of impermanence...

As these things "come to pass" God sets before us the opportunity to look to Him - perhaps as we never have in the past, and
to take His hand in the midst of the quicksand.
He offers us the chance to look to Him
to open a way where there is no way, and cause us to inherit the full dimensions of the inheritance He has provided.