Beyond Our Wildest Imagination

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Revelation 21:5

Newness originates with God. “Behold,” he says to us from Revelation, “I am making all things new.” Because God is consistently promising us new, we must be intentional about releasing what we’ve always known and how we’ve always done things, in order to get a glimpse of where God is excitedly inviting us to venture.

When Dutch visionary, Theo Jansen took his Strandbeests to New England, the children in the crowds were enthralled by the lifelike movements of these creatures—creatures which Jansen crafts using PVC pipes, connected together with plastic ties and powered by the wind. When I first saw these spectacular creatures, moving their way down the beach on my television screen, I was bug-eyed with awe. It was as if I’d come face-to-face with the future, and with something I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams. I felt a mixture of fear and fascination at the same time. I kept stopping the footage, rewinding, and playing it again.

“What is it that brings out the child in us when we see these objects?” CBS news anchor, Jamie Wax asked when he interviewed Jansen about the effect his Strandbeests had on the crowd. Jansen replied, “For a child, life is new, right? Every experience is new and, if you see something new, you forget you’ve grown up, and the child comes back.”

“Be like children,” Jesus says to us, and it sounds as if he’s saying, “Stand up on your tiptoes! Expect the unexpected! Live as if it’s always Christmas Eve!”

Something to Think About:

In your world, do you live expectantly? Are you on the lookout for new? What is it that brings out the child in you?

Something to Do:

Watch this video of Theo Jansen’s Strandbeasts and write down how the images make you feel. Share the video with someone and talk about what you saw and how it made you feel.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the gift of creativity. Thank you for giving me an imagination and for encouraging me to press beyond the boundaries that I allow to keep me from engaging the world as a child. You promise you are making all things new, even now. Those words make me feel expectant, hopeful, and excited for what the future holds. Let it be so, Lord. Let it be so.

Explore more at the Theology of Work Project online commentary: The Meaning of Revelation for Our Work