I don’t buy the lie. While I agree that any student of history can easily observe that ‘there’s nothing new under the sun’ insomuch as we repeat the same mistakes over and over again in history, there is a cycle to our foolishness, etc. But I believe that is a shallow and hallow view of history, of future hope, and of the present reality. In scripture Jesus claims that “(he) makes all things new” which I believe is not just a claim about resurrection, about the future kingdom of God but about today–about you and me–about what God IS doing not simply about what God WILL do.
Every single one of us, every single one of you is created in the image of God. God doesn’t make shit. He made you in his likeness. You are special and beautiful and amazing and (dare I say) god-like. No person was a mistake.* In and through you and I God is actively making all things new. We are invited to partner with him in restoration, transformation, and reconciliation. We are invited to partner with him even as we ourselves are experiencing it new and fresh.
No, everything is new under the sun. We might follow some of the same cycles of life, we might make the same mistakes over and over again. But that is not because there’s nothing new under the sun. It is because sin and failure is not a creative empire. God, however, is in the business of creating, of creating new things and he invites us to do so with him. In you and I, because of our identity as image bearers, because we follow a creative God, because we are unique and special we we are seeing new things emerge in our world. Everything is new because you’ve never been where you’ve been before, no one else has been you nor will anyone else ever be you. Therefore you have the opportunity to digress into the simple and uncreative life of brokenness or you have the invitation to step into a life of creativity, innovation, imagination, exploration, and purpose. Another phrase to summarize that might be the kingdom of God.
* Honestly this is an intimidating statement for me to make because I can easily think of multiple people in history who I wish were never created. If they never existed I think we all would have been better off. It’s an honest clashing of my belief system and my experience. In this instance I’m choosing to believe.