Hello, and welcome to another Journey of Blessing Sunday. Also participating with me in this endeavor are
Lynda Lambert
and
Abbie Johnson Taylor

2Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

The gentle breath of their Creator filled their lungs and spirits. Suddenly Adam and Eve found themselves in a place they’d never been before. They stood there staring at the wonders around them–the grass, the trees, the waterfalls, the animals, the singing birds–and most of all each other. It was all completely new, utterly unfamiliar. They had to devise names for everything, and God graciously agreed to use the names they had supplied. Just imagine how that might feel for a minute. What is all this? Who are all these other beings? What are we supposed to do here? Anyone who’s raised a baby has seen the same awe and wonder as they discover things that, to you, are old and familiar, but for them are something they’re experiencing for the very first time. Their eyes light up, they smile and laugh and coo–it’s delightful to behold, truthfully.

And then suddenly something happens. More and more things become familiar. They escape our notice. They’re not new anymore. Wonder and awe have left the building.

The truth is, if things never become familiar, we could never learn. From an evolutionary standpoint (and yes, as a Christian, I believe in evolution), we’d constantly be wondering if that butterfly might want to eat us–or at least take a bite out of us–rather than figuring out it was harmless and then going about our day.

We’re promised that in Christ, we are new creations, just like what Adam and Eve were seeing for the very first time.

Lamentations 3:22 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

I pray each of us can find the wonder of the blessing of newness. We’re new creations, God’s mercies are new every morning, we have yet another chance to get it right–or not. My prayer is that in 2026, I’ll see the awe and wonder more, rejoice in the newness of His mercies–and hopefully get it right more often than I get it wrong.