January 1 – Nothing New Under The Sun

        Eccl. 1:9, 10 -- "What has been will be again; what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, 'Look! This is something new'? It was here already, long ago. It was here before our time." NIV, © 1973

        Matt. 13:52 – "[Jesus] said to them, 'Therefore, every teacher of the law who has instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." NIV, © 1973

        I love to walk along the beach, looking for unique shells that the ocean has deposited in the sand. Purple-laced shells are my favorites, with black ones coming in second place. However, any unique-looking shells are worthy of keeping. Most of the purple-laced shells are actually just shards of larger shells that the churning of the ocean has torn apart (and re-cycled). That process takes nothing away from the beauty that I see in these broken pieces. 

              Many persons have written daily devotionals for the Christian community over the years. So, what makes this one special or different from all the others? Not necessarily anything. Solomon realistically, albeit pessimistically, realized, in the above quote from Ecclesiastes, that we just re-hash the same material, generation after generation. We live just like our ancestors did, only with different technology that we think makes our lives better than the previous generation. We all still need to eat and drink and have a secure place to lay our heads, away from the rain. And we need to have a correct perspective on God. That was also part of Solomon's search for meaning.

        Jesus comes along 900 years later and gives us a fuller and ultimate revelation of God and how to view life in this world. He states that the treasures of the kingdom consist of old and new things. While we Christians consider the New Testament to be the "final" revelation of God, his Spirit can take what is old, mundane, boring, repetitive, and make it new, vibrant, exciting, and life-changing to individuals, no matter what their age is, or how mature there life-experiences have been. God is in the business of redeeming all things. He can make your life flourish in the midst of what seems like constant winter, bringing new things out of his storeroom.

        Therefore, everything in this devotional, while being a re-hash of someone's experiences, may be something new and inspiring to someone else. Remember – they can't all be gems. But then again, they don't need to be.