What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9
Every year, manufacturers release newer versions of their existing products to increase their clientele and generate more sales. They sometimes add more bells and whistles to the newer products to attract more buyers. But in truth, those products are not new at all. They are just upgraded versions of products that already existed. Some manufacturers would take a product off the market for a period of time, only to rebrand it and sell it as something new.
Why are most people fascinated with new things? Today’s text tells us that “what has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” This is a convicting statement that challenges our perspective on the world. But how can that statement be true since we have had so many advances in science, technology, and medicine? A cell phone can do more today than the equivalent of many computers thirty years ago. Today, we have self-driven cars and robots who can do household chores. Doctors are now able to transplant organs from pigs to humans.
At the heart of these amazing feats are the principles that have shaped the way we lived for ages. People in antiquity did not have cell phones but they had homing pigeons that helped them to communicate with other people far away. They did not go to outer space, but they were in tune with the mysteries of creation and had a profound knowledge of astronomy as evidenced by the three wise men who traveled a long distance to find the baby Jesus by reading the stars. The pharmaceutical industry is studying the medicinal benefits of plants that have been used by people for centuries for their healing properties.
Indeed, the reality is that human beings are fundamentally the same. We continue to make the same mistakes we have been making since the dawn of time. The poor and needy are still treated with contempt while the rich and affluent are revered. People are still killing one another because of different religious beliefs. Racism, sexism, and classism are still shaping the way we treat one another. Nations are still going to war against nations. A majority of people are still denying that Jesus Christ is God, despite His impact on the world through the spreading of His gospel.
Unfortunately, there is nothing new about the divisiveness that exists in this country. Nor is the violence that has caused the untimely death of countless innocent individuals new. The fact that Jesus is coming back on earth to rapture His church will not be new. The first time He came as a suffering servant for the propitiation of our sins and the redemption of our souls. The second time He will come back as a conquering King.
The text says, “what has been done will be done again.” The world will behold the glory of our risen Savior again when He comes back to establish His kingdom on earth. But prior to that triumphant return, the church will be persecuted, and some believers will be martyred for their faith in Jesus as they were in biblical times. Just as in the days of Noah, “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.” Our love for the Lord and our service to His kingdom will not be new, but we can certainly renew our faith in God daily and increase the intensity of our worship of His glorious name.
Questions for Personal Reflection
What are you doing to prepare for the return of Jesus Christ?
How is the Holy Spirit renewing your faith in the Lord?
Prayer- Blessed Lord, I thank you for being the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. I praise you for the blessed assurance that Jesus will come back again to rapture His church. Please help me to live a Holy Spirit-led life in anticipation of Jesus’ return.
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