He makes all things new

"Once you've met the Messiah - AM is all that matters."

I love this sentence. It follows the sentence "I once was something too" but...

But if you have met the Messiah, who you are now is what matters. It starts with meeting Him.

The context - Matthew and Peter didn't like each other very much. This is logical because Matthew was a tax collector, and a traitor to the country, and Simon thought so. And he showed it. Peter would remind Matthew of his past. But "when you have met Jesus - the Messiah - who you are now is what matters." Simon and Matthew - both followers of Rabbi Jesus. Both are on the road. And both still had much to learn.

There is an important lesson for you and me in the brief comment from this episode. Often we allow ourselves to be defined by what has happened in the past. We feel valuable and successful when we have accomplished great things. But if things went completely wrong yesterday, we may feel very insecure today, perhaps unworthy.

We all need to hear Jesus' words. What He says about who you are is what you can hold on to. That helps you not to think too big, but also not too small about yourself.

As I thought about this lesson, I was reminded of Revelation 21:5. There we find ourselves at the end of time. About Jesus, it says there, "All things I make new!"

Everything!

New!

Everything around you!

Everything new!

All brokenness - new.

All the tears - seen. Dried.

It is in God to make things "new”. It was so at the beginning of creation when He spoke and brought about beautiful things, and it will be so at the end of time as well. It says something about God Himself. This is how He is.

That perfect picture is for later. But God is no different now than He will be later. In you now, today, He wants to make something new. What will be visible in the big picture later, He wants to start in you now.

Therefore - "once you met the Messiah - AM is all that matters". He - Jesus is making beautiful, new things in you. Listen to what the great "I AM" says about you and let Him define who you are.

No pasts, mistakes, successes, or trophies can match that.

Think about the following questions:

• Who "were" you?
• Who did you become when you met Jesus?
• Where is Jesus in you making "all things new"?

Prayer: "Lord, teach me to look at myself through Your eyes. Not to human success. Not to failure. But to be known by You. Seen by You. Loved by You. Help me look at myself this way. Help me to look at others this way. Amen."