The Museum of New Beginnings
Welcome to the Museum of New Beginnings. This gallery displays portraits of people who have been able to make a new start. It is a building of regained hopes. A collection of new dreams. An exhibition of second chances. Wouldn't it be fantastic to actually be able to visit such an exhibition someday? Wouldn't it be magnificent to be able to stroll through such a collection? What would it be like to look at a long row of paintings depicting how God meets people at their lowest point and helps them start over? Not just biblical figures, but people from today, people like you. People from your generation, from your world? And what if this gallery contained not only the stories of those people, but also yours and mine? What if there was a place where we could exhibit our experiences of before and after? Perhaps there really is such a place. I have an idea for how to create such a gallery. It might seem a bit far-fetched, but I think the idea isn't bad.
But before I tell you about that, we need to clarify one last question. A crucial question. The Bible is full of accounts of how God meets people in desperate situations. Can you tell me why these accounts are in the Bible? Why do the Gospels contain many experiences of such people? Why is it full of hopeless people? Even if their situations look different, their inner state is always the same: They are in a tight spot. They are lonely. They are rejected. They don't know where to turn. On their lips is a desperate prayer. In their hearts are shattered dreams. They don't know what to do.
And once again I ask the question: Why do we find these portraits in the Bible? Why does this gallery exist? Why has God left us a series of stories of renewed hope and new dreams? So that we can be thankful for the past? So that we can look back in wonder at what Jesus did? No. No, and no again. The purpose of these stories is not to tell us what Jesus did. Their purpose is to tell us what Jesus is doing. "These things were written a long time ago so that we could learn from them," Paul explained in his letter to the church in Rome, "to give us hope and encouragement so that we might wait patiently for the promises of God in the Scriptures" (Romans 1).5,4 New Life Bible).
The accounts in the Bible aren't just nice stories for Sunday school. They're not romantic fairy tales or fantasies of castles in the air. They're historical events in which a real God relieved real suffering, so that we have an answer to the question: Where is God when I suffer?
How does God respond to dashed hopes? Read the story of Jairus. What does the father feel when he sees sick people? Go with him to the Pool of Bethesda. Do you long for God to speak into your broken dreams? Then listen to what he says to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. What does God say to those who are ashamed? Watch him as he writes in the sand with his finger in the courtyard of the Temple in Jerusalem. He didn't just do that for those people. He does it for me too. And he does it for you too.
And that brings us to a still-empty wall in our exhibition hall—a wall reserved for your paintings. One day, you will have completed your journey. Imagine yourself then picking up a brush, standing in front of the canvases bearing your name, and painting your pictures. It doesn't necessarily have to be with oil paint on a canvas. It could also be with pencil on a piece of paper, with words on a computer, in a clay sculpture, or in a song. It doesn't matter which way you do it, but I invite you to do it in some form or another. Capture the drama of your life. Tell your story. Trace your life's journey. Start with the before. What was it like back then, before your new beginning? Can you still remember it? Maybe it was decades ago. Or maybe it was just yesterday. Maybe you already knew Jesus back then. Or maybe you had never met him. That's not the point. The only important thing is that you never forget what your life was like before your new beginning.
Remembering this can be painful. We don't like to think back on some aspects of our past. But it is important to remember. "Remember, brothers, that few of you were wise or powerful or honored in the eyes of the world when God called you," Paul admonishes the Christians in Corinth (1. Corinthians 1,26 New Life Bible).
We, the adopted, must not forget what life was like as orphans. We, the freed, should visit the prison again. We, the found, must not forget how desperate we were when we were lost. Amnesia breeds arrogance. Therefore, we cannot afford to forget. We must remember.
And we should definitely share our story. Not necessarily to everyone, but to some people. Somewhere, there's someone who feels the same way you did. And that person simply needs to know that God can help them start over and that he's there for us in our struggles. If you paint an honest picture of your past, it could give someone else courage for the future.
But don't just talk about your past; talk about the present too. Describe how God intervenes in your life. Tell what has changed because of him. This task, too, has its challenges. Depicting the before can be painful, and describing the now can be a little imprecise or vague. After all, he isn't finished with you yet! Simply record what Jesus Christ has done in your life. If he has given you peace, then draw a dove. If it is joy, then simply paint a rainbow on the wall. If he has given you courage, then sing a song about people who can move mountains. And when you're finished with your picture, don't hide it. Hang your work of art where you can see it. Place it so that it reminds you daily of the power of your Heavenly Father.
And when we all get home, we'll open an art gallery! That's my idea. I know it sounds crazy, but what if we actually did it? I don't know if something like that is allowed. But something tells me our Heavenly Father won't mind. After all, there's plenty of space in our future home, and we'll have plenty of time.
And what a great way that would be to break the ice and make new friends! Can you imagine? We'll meet Jonah and a life-sized whale. Moses will stand before a burning bush. David will teach us how to use a slingshot. We'll get to touch Gideon's fleece (sheep's wool)—the fleece—and Abraham will show us a painting titled: The Night of a Thousand Stars.
You can also sit with Zacchaeus in his tree. A boy shows you a basket containing five loaves of bread and two fish. Martha welcomes you into her kitchen. And the Roman centurion asks you if you would like to touch the cross.
Martin Luther is here with the Epistle to the Romans. Susanna Wesley tells us how she prayed for her sons, Charles and John. Dwight L. Moody recounts how one day he left the shoe store to preach. And John Newton sings "Amazing Grace" to us, accompanied by a choir of angels.
Some of the people we meet in heaven are famous, most are not, but all are heroes. A soldier shows you a rifle pit he recreated, replicating the one where he met Jesus. A housewife shows you her New Testament, stained from tears. Next to a Nigerian stands the missionary who taught him. And behind a Brazilian, you can see a painting of the river in which he was baptized.
And somewhere in the middle of this gallery of hope hangs a depiction of your story. One by one, people look at it. Everyone listens attentively, as if they had all the time in the world. (And they do!) People treat you as if you were of royal descent. (After all, you are a king's child!) Solomon asks you questions. Job praises your perseverance. Joshua praises your courage. And when everyone applauds, clap along. Because in heaven, everyone knows that all praise belongs to only one person.
Please remember that the purpose of these stories is not to look back in wonder, but to look forward in faith. The God who spoke before still speaks today. The God who forgave before still forgives. The God who came to us before is still coming. He is coming into this world. He is coming into your world. He is coming to do what you cannot do. He is coming to help you begin again—so that you have a second chance to become more and more like him as you are transformed into his glorious image.
by Max Lucado
This text was taken from the book "Never stop starting again" by Max Lucado, published by Gerth Medien ©2022 was issued. Max Lucado is the longtime pastor of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. Used with permission.
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