God's New Normal
The ‘New Normal’ is well and truly part of everyday life now. When I get ready to go out, I check keys, wallet, phone and... mask. I know it’s not law to wear it, but there are still occasion that I decide to pop it on.
When out and about people leave a little more space when passing. If I meet friends I ask the question, do you hug, shake hands or elbow touch!
Taking regular lateral flow tests is also part of many people’s weekly routines and now work from home either part or full time.
It appears we now must live with, and seek to manage ‘Covid’, as best we can. The ‘New Normal’ is not so new these days!
As I have been reflecting on how life is for us here in the UK, it occurred to me, that one of the key messages of the Bible is for God to bring about His ‘New Normal’.
Look at this bit of ‘prophecy’ from a man in the Old Testament called Jeremiah...
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
God spoke through Jeremiah at a time when the nation of Israel was just about to be invaded by the Babylonians.
This once great nation had rejected to follow God’s ways, and because of that, they were on the brink of being destroyed.
It was into this great despair that God said, via Jeremiah, that one day things would be different, He would bring about a ‘New Normal’.
The Message Bible puts it like this: ‘They’ll know me first-hand, the dull and the bright, the smart and the slow. I’ll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I’ll forget they ever sinned!’
The fantastic news is, that this came true and is still true today. There are countless Christians around the world living free from their past, now in a personal relationship with God, living to serve Him!
Are you part of God’s ‘New Normal’?
God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader