And He that sat upon the throne said Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. Revelation 21:5
Years ago, there was an old joke about how rich people would trade in their cars as soon as the ash trays were full. While it is unlikely that anybody ever did that, it is true that some people with the money available do buy new cars as soon as the latest models arrive in the showrooms. Many people who are fascinated by technology buy the latest gadgets that are available, especially smartphones that have features not available on older models. The demand for new houses is lead by people who feel the need to have something newer and better than their current dwelling. People who are fashion conscious spent inordinate amounts of money to always be dressed in the latest styles. In many ways, the old line of keeping up with the Joneses has transformed into staying ahead of the Joneses. And to be fair, new things are nice to have and we all appreciate having them. And our text tells us that we will have new things for all eternity.
Too much of our time is taken up with material things, obtaining them and playing with them, bragging about them, and collecting more than somebody else. But in Heaven, we won’t need or want material things. Even the mansions that we are promised are our assurance that our eternal home will provide us with a dwelling that exceeds anything we can imagine here on earth. It would be pointless for us to have new material things in Heaven where there is no need or desire for them. But the things that will be made new are far more precious and wonderful than material things.
One important thing that God will make new for us in Heaven is our attitude. Today’s attitudes are tainted by sin and selfishness. But in Heaven, there is no sin. The weaknesses of the flesh, the attractions of the world, and the temptations of the devil that have such a large influence on us now will be no more. And selfishness has no place in heaven because our great desire will be not for ourselves but for the One Who has made it possible for us to be there. As we consider what our attitude will be like in Heaven, we should strive to have that attitude here and now.
We will also have a new song in Heaven. Whether we will be singing any of the grand old hymns of the faith we don’t know, but we are told there will be a new song. And we will be given the perfect voices to sing it with lovely harmony, and the perfect desire to sing it with love and worship. We do the best we can here with singing, but we can rejoice that it will be so much better up there.
So many more things will be made new in Heaven, too, far more than we can count. But as we see how sin and self have messed things up here so badly, we can rejoice that God will give us that which is new and perfect and which will remain so forever. -Jim MacIntosh