4th Week of Lent
I am about to create. (Isaiah 65:17)
For centuries it has been traditional for baptismal fonts to have eight sides. The first seven sides were meant to represent the seven days of creation. The eighth side, however, represented God’s ongoing, unending work of creation, both in the world and in each of his people. When a child is baptized, he or she is baptized into that eighth day—another new creation ready to inherit the kingdom of God!
Isn’t that wonderful? God is never finished creating! He is still making new things every day. He is also at work every day making everything that already exists “new” (Revelation 21:5).
Every day we see God creating in the world around us. Plants are pollinated and multiply; seeds mature into berries; volcanic lava creates new land formations. Every day the world shifts and changes a bit as God continues his active, creative work around us.
Now, just as God is still creating in the natural world, he is also still creating in the spiritual world. Every day he creates new openings for you to receive his love and to experience healing and grace in your relationships. Every day he opens new doors for you to share your faith. Although not as dramatic as volcanic lava, these too are manifestations of the “new creation” that God is forming in us and around us.
We’re just about halfway through Lent. Now is a good time to look back for signs of his creative work. Where do you feel a bit new? Then look forward to the creation yet to come. Where do you see new seeds about to blossom forth? Especially when it comes to matters of the heart, God is infinitely creative. He knows where you need renewal—in your prayer life, in your habits, and in your troubling relationships—and he is working to bring it about.
You may see yourself as a work in progress, but God sees you, as well as everything he creates, and calls it “good” (Genesis 1:31). As Isaiah promised, God has a wonderful future in store for you, one that will bring you joy and amazement (65:18). So welcome the ways that God is making you new right now, and have faith that he’s not finished yet!
“Father, help me to recognize your ongoing, creative work in me.”
Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-13
John 4:43-54
