A couple of years ago, there was a show on television called Rehab Addict. It’s not what you may think from the title. It’s about a woman who takes old, dilapidated houses and rehabilitates them, makes them fresh and beautiful, ready to be lived in again. In her words, she is “addicted to rehab,” the kind of rehab that houses need.

The show is inspiring. She rarely uses anything new. She finds old cabinets and strips them, creating charm and style. She finds an antique door knob that isn’t working, takes it apart and fixes it. After she is through with it, it’s not only workable but catches the light from the shine of its polish. She makes all things new.

And that’s what I think about today as I get ready to face 2017. I am desperate for rehab, desperate for the old and dilapidated to emerge as bright, fresh, and new.

In the book of Revelation, we are given a glimpse of a new Heaven and a new Earth. We are given a glimpse of a place with no more pain, no more suffering, no more fractured relationships and tired broken promises. We are given a picture that is better than we can possibly imagine. 

“.…and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Our world is weary. So many of us are desperate for rescue, desperate to see justice roll down, desperate for light to shine in the dark places. We are desperate for healing, waiting for our tears to be wiped away.

Into this mix come the promises in Revelation. Irrational? Perhaps. Improbable? Maybe. Do I believe them? With all my heart. A virgin birth, a baby saviour, a life lived without sin, death on a cross, and a resurrection. Those things are the foundation for the promises that come years later in Revelation through John, the Beloved Disciple.

None of that makes sense to the rational mind, but it sure makes sense to those of us desperate for rehabilitation. It makes sense to those of us who know that we are not capable of living life without a Savior. 

He will make all things new. It is God who will take those of us tired in body and soul and rehabilitate us for his purpose, for his glory. It may not be rational, but this is the beauty of an irrational season.

“And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’ Then He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.'”

May we face 2017 with the joy of a people who hope; a people who long for God’s kingdom to come on earth, just as it is in Heaven. And may we look with anticipation for all things to be made new. 

[Source: Revelation 21: 4-6 NIV]