New is powerful and we long for it; that is not a bad thing. New keeps life fresh, exciting, and filled with hope. In fact, I suggest, we are designed to long for new. This crucial feature of our being is one of many factors that separate us from the rest of creation.
The bird, the fish, and the mammal do not long for new. They behave the same way every day. They eat the same foods and they migrate to the same locations via the same routes to eat these same foods. This very sameness is what keeps them alive and vulnerable at the same time.
For example, the migration of the wildebeest within the Serengeti of Africa is solely based on this animal’s need for grass and water to stay alive. Wildlife tours know from month to month just where the wildebeest will be, based on where the rains will provide grass and water. You can visit African tour sites online and utilize detailed satellite maps to determine if their migration fits into your travel schedule.
What I find humorous is that it has taken modern man years of mapping and thousands of dollars in satellite feeds to figure out this migration. The lion just knows. Lion prides count on the wildebeest doing the same thing from month to month and year to year. And then they wait for the inevitable same thing to happen: a wildebeest to be sick, fall behind, or get lost. It’s the sameness of the herd mentality that keeps the members of the lion pride alive and the wildebeest vulnerable.
Human beings are not designed that way. No, we crave new. Sure, we all need routine to keep some order to life and make sense of things around us, but as people, we would get quite bored and cantankerous if we didn’t have the adventure of a new thing now and then. Even those who think they can only survive within strict routine need a new thing once in a while. Of course, there are those who are not shy about expressing their displeasure with the same old thing. Take the Israelites…
If you’ve ever wondered if there has been anyone experiencing what you are going through, just open up your Bible and start reading about ancient Israel. God shows off His people in living color: the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. For example, it didn’t take long for the precious manna given in the wilderness to turn into tasteless bread. Here they were, literally out in the middle of nowhere, starving, and God in His grace provides them food. It met all their nutritional needs. They didn’t have to till the ground or pull weeds or water or anything. They just had to go pick it up each day.
Yep, those Israelites ate the same manna every day, 365 days a year, for forty long years (Exodus 16:35). And you know what happened? It didn’t take long for them to want something new to munch on.
The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna. Numbers 11:4-6
This is one of those downright ugly times for Israel. It wasn’t that their desire for new was wrong. It was their greed and ungrateful spirit that brought judgment from the Lord, a problem they frequently had (Numbers 11:10-35). Aren’t we just like them? So many of our wonderful, God-given desires can easily turn to lust and before we know it, trouble abounds. We moan and groan and complain because we aren’t getting what we want when we want it. Can you imagine a lion weeping and wailing because they have to eat wildebeest again?
We operate best and enjoy life most when we are grateful for all God has given while at the same time appreciating the new thing when it comes our way now and then. The new thing can be small or it can be breathtaking.
A new twist to an old recipe brings a smile to the gourmet cook. A new hairstyle provides a boost of confidence for the first day on a job. A new song or new arrangement played on a Sunday morning wakes up even the stodgiest church goer. A new friend brightens the day and sharpens the soul. A new covenant redeems a fallen race where the blood of lambs could not. And a new commandment rocks what appears to be a well-ordered world.
The new thing Jesus was about to introduce to his true disciples (the false disciple, Judas, had already left the upper room) would be so powerful that it would eradicate all cultural lines.
I can only speculate, but from Peter’s brush off to this new command (John 13:36), I think it is safe to say the disciples didn’t think it was any big deal to love one another. At least it wasn ’t anything to worry about.
Discussion
I can so relate to Peter, mostly in his shortcomings. But I also aspire to be bold like Peter and to be teachable even when it is hard. Which New Testament one another can you relate to the most?
One Another Living 