Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise (Isa 43:18-21).
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son (Rev 21:5-7).
Have you ever painted a room in your house, or had it painted? Not a major remodel, but something as simple as painting it a new color.
The room feels different. The character of the room is changed. The room has a different energy, a new potential.
At Missouri State, we just finished painting our old offices and basement. Where once blank, flat white reined (along with a multitude of dirt and scuff marks), now vivid color rules. Our place feels like it has new life!
We’re coming into a new school year. It’s the same school, and the same Chi Alpha ministry. But it’s new again. New energy and new potential.
I want you to imagine something. Dream with me!
Who is the freshman you’re going to meet in the next month? Someone you will disciple, whom you will see grow and mature? Someone who will be your maid of honor or your best man when you marry?
Who is the international student you are going to meet in the next few weeks? Who you will share the Gospel with? Who will come to know the Lord and will return to his or her home country as an indigenous missionary, sharing Christ with his or her family and friends there? Who you will visit every other year with your family for vacation in your 40s? Who you haven’t even met yet, but in just a couple of months, you can’t picture your life without him or her in it?
Who are you going to see come to know and trust and love Jesus? In whom you will see Jesus make new before your eyes? Whom will you show the spring of the water of life, that they may quench their eternal thirst?
Who will you lead to their inheritance with God, that they may become daughters and sons of the Living One?
Who is the senior you’re going to meet in one of your classes, who has burned out on the party life, and doesn’t know he doesn’t need alcohol to help him sleep? Who will you invite to your small group, the fellowship that breaks bread together—the Bread of Life together—and will be free and sleep soundly for the first time in months?
Dream! And if you can’t dream yet, ask God for vision, because where there is no vision, people perish!
Get hyped! Get excited! The troubles of last year are gone and all you have before you is the promise of a fertile field of ministry! The fields are ripe for the harvest! Go and work them!
All views expressed on this blog are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the view of Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, U.S.A., U.S. Missions, and The General Council of the Assemblies of God.