New

The sun is coming up. Many can't believe that I witness this event most days. What they can't really believe is that I choose to. I'm not driven by work schedule or school schedule. I'm just up at the dawn of a new day. Some don't even realize that 5 o'clock happens more than once a day. It does, and the one that I witness most mornings is far more inspiring than the one that happens every afternoon. I'll admit that some days are easier than others. Some days my eyes pop open automatically even though the darkness urges otherwise. Sometimes I just feel like I ought to oopen them against my better judgement. Those days that I give in to the carnal desire for more sleep I usually feel robbed. I've lost valuable time. It's quiet now in my house. It only happens at sunrise. I value quiet as any good father values quiet. The trouble is that I only get it here and now. It's also beautiful this time of day. It's new. Contrary to popular legend, it is sunny most mornings here in Seattle so as the day breaks, it's usually to the sun gradually bringing the sky through all of the various shades of purple. It starts out totally dark, but as I watch through a caffeine induced high, a pallete of lavender arrives gradually moving to pink and blending into the pale blue of the morning skyline. It's new. It's untoughed for the moment. No jets are flying by. There is no exhaust accumulated yet from the morning commute. There is only new. I can appreciate new at this time in my life. Maybe that's why I'm eager to witness this time every morning. There is not enough new going on. In my line of work new should be an everyday occurrence. Unfortunately, not so much as I'd hoped for when I signed on. My interest lies in new life, as in the kind of life you enter once you've given over the old one to Jesus. Many people are not interested in a new life even when it's obvious that the old one isn't a viable option. We're more into fixing the old one which I find kind of ironic. In a culture where practically everything is throw away from a microwave to a marriage, we're still very much into the "I can fix it myself"mentality. It's making the gazillion authors of self-help rich. It's making the talk show circuit hosts rich. It's making the extreme makeover reality culture rich. Everyone benefits except for the one truly needing something new. For those of you reading this who have not yet experienced new, let me say this.... You need it. Statistically, an overwhelming number of you want your final address to read "Heaven". You can't "self-help" yourself there. That is the whole point of Jesus. Mankind has always tried it. It has always failed. God new this then and He knows it now. You need to expreience new life with Jesus. It's fairly easy really. There's no magic formula or secret code. You simply ask God to trade your old life for a new one with him. Sure there's investment from that point forward, but there's always an investment in keeping something looking and feeling new. The problem is that too many have ignored the investment needed. How long does a new vehicle last without investment? How long does a house? It's the same principle. Make it new.... keep it new. It makes it worth getting up in the morning.