New Creations

2 Corinthians 5:17 New International Version (NIV)

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!

In 1888, new sunflower sprouts push up from the soil in the south of France. These sprouts are destined to live for a season but in the hands of a master they will become a new creation and inspire people for generations.

In 1987, Vincent Van Gogh’s painting of sunflowers sold at auction for nearly 40 million dollars. The painting was part of Van Gogh’s popular series of sunflower paintings. While other plants and trees may live for years, decades, or hundreds of years, the sunflower lives for only a season. Although it only lives for a short time, it is popularly celebrated in art and design.

The value of a life is not determined by its length. God created some living things to live for thousands of years yet others for only a season. Each one has its own purpose. As a parent who has lost a child I have repeatedly heard the words, “Gone too soon.” used after the death of my son. God is sovereign and He knew the number of days my son would live. It may feel too soon to me and to the others who loved my son. We had plans, hopes, and dreams for his life but more importantly God had a purpose for his life from the beginning to the end.

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that if we are in Christ we are a new creation. God is the artist and we are his creation. When my son put his faith in Christ he became a new creation. His life was no longer defined by the number of his days on this earth. The temporary became eternal. Van Gogh’s sunflowers that sprouted from the ground initially seemed destined to live for only a season. In the eyes and hands of an artist they gained longevity and new value. The old passed away and a new creation formed. Today those same sunflowers from 1888 are still on view in a new form in different museums around the world.

In August of 2017, five of Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings were reunited online for a virtual exhibit which was broadcast live on Facebook. People from all over the world were able to view the sunflowers together for the first time in virtual reality. The idea of this would have been unimaginable to people living in 1888. 

I look forward to a day when I will be reunited with my son not in virtual reality but in the ultimate reality of Heaven. We too will be transformed and reunited. If simple flowers grown in the south of France can inspire generations by the transformation by a human artist, how much more will we be inspired by the work of our Heavenly Father. Our reunion in Heaven will be more than we could have ever imagined.

Response

How has God transformed you?