Found Truths | New Beginnings

Article by Reverend RB Moore

George Angus and Catherine McDonald, of Scotland, dated for 44 years! Finally, when George was 68 years old, and Catherine was 60, George proposed marriage. After Catherine said, “Yes,” she was asked why George waited so long to propose. She replied, “Well, he is a bit shy, you know.” As we begin a new year, hopefully, we won’t take 44 years to make a new beginning. 

Yet if the truth be told, all of us open new chapters from time to time, not just at the start of a new year. As we embark on a new journey on occasion, there are a few eternal realities to keep in mind which may keep us on track. For instance, a fresh start affords us the opportunity to make a fair assessment of where we stand. 

Beginning again invites us to honestly evaluate our station in life. Along this line of thought, a man once stepped up on an old set of scales at a drugstore. The old scales claimed to measure one’s weight, and to offer a card with one’s fortune foretold, or one’s personality described. As the man stood on the scales, his wife looked at the card and read it out loud. 

“You are a charming personality, a leader of men, a citizen of high character, intelligent, and physically attractive.” Peering at the scale, the wife then commented, “Goodness! It has your weight wrong, too!” The point being, don’t be misled by false information. Let’s make a fair assessment of where we stand. 

Here’s another reality to keep us on track. A brand-new start invites us to set a realistic goal, which moves us forward, regardless of the obstacles. For example, did you hear about the time the factory belonging to the famous inventor Thomas Alva Edison caught fire one night? It happened in December of 1914 when Edison was 67 years old. As the flames burned out of control, he told his son, “Go get your mom! Tell her to get her friends and come quickly! They’ll never see another fire like this as long as they live!” Then, before the crack of dawn, Edison called his employees together and declared, “We’re rebuilding!”   

Edison was motivated by a worthy cause. He was caught up in a vision of what the future holds. A new beginning comes with the possibility of setting an achievable goal; a goal with an intrinsic motivation which leads us forward, regardless of the obstacles. 

Here’s another reality that may guide us on our new voyage. God’s creative process joins us as we launch out in faith to do something new. We see this reality happening time and time again in Biblical history. Consider these examples carefully for a moment.

We see God begins to create a new nation as Abraham moved from Ur to the Land of Promise. God’s creative power leads Joshua to break down the walls of Jericho with the marching of feet and the blasting of trumpets. God’s creative Spirit breaks through in Christ as five loaves of bread and two fish are multiplied to feed the hungry. Then, with the sound of a mighty wind, God’s Spirit begins to create the church on the Day of Pentecost.

By way of application, God’s creative Spirit arrives on the scene as we move like Abraham to a new school, a new job, a new house, a new town or a new stage in life. As in the days of Joshua, God’s Spirit appears with us as we break down the walls that prevent God’s people from making progress at work or at play. The creative presence of God joins us, such as in the time of Jesus, when we feed our hungry family or the poorest among us. As on the Day of Pentecost, God’s creative Spirit empowers us as we use our spiritual gifts to strengthen the people of God.

This brings us to Genesis 1:1, which tells us, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” It seems, God’s power has started creating without us. It’s time for us to catch up, and to join our creative minds with God, as we make a new beginning.