All Things New
Among the innovations of 2025 are several autonomous robot applications. We now have self-driving cars, self-operating lawn mowers and drone-delivered packages. The year also saw the development of the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine, which is believed to enable hypersonic travel (e.g., Los Angeles to Tokyo in under two hours). Also, you can now access the first compact, at-home ultraviolet printer that applies texture to objects (not just ink to paper).
Science and technology are constantly advancing, progressing at an exponentially accelerating rate. The examples above will likely be outdated by the time I hit “send” on this devotional. (Will we even be “sending” things by next year?)
Thanks to the contributions of people like Marie Curie, by the end of the 19th century, physics had advanced significantly in thermodynamics and kinetic theory. These breakthroughs were so significant that it was generally accepted that the only task remaining in the field was a few minor measurements. In 1899, the U.S. Commissioner of Patents is believed to have said, “Everything that can be invented has been invented,” suggesting that in the near future there would be no need for his office.
As laughable as that is, in many ways we believe the same about our own time. A common argument among unbelievers is that the Bible is antiquated. Its view of humanity is archaic, and its commands obsolete. Scripture is dismissed as irrelevant to present-day life and for its unreasonably prudish demands.
Ironically, the Author of the Bible, who knows all futures, foresaw that man (in every era) would accuse His Word of being out of touch with their modern times. As a result, God preemptively addressed the allegation 3,000 years ago.
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecc. 1:9)
The “nothing new under the sun” theme runs throughout the book of Ecclesiastes. But if God knew what technological advancements humans would produce in the future, how could He maintain that there is “nothing new”? He means that, even as humans continue to invent new tools, they do not create new realities. From the time of the Fall to today, men and women have been enslaved to the same sins. No society has innovated its way out of anger, lust or hypocrisy. No prizes have been awarded in chemistry, literature or the economic sciences for resolving pride, greed or envy. Scientists have not designed an artificial intelligence that can eliminate gluttony, gossip, or worry.
There is no salvation in innovation. The key to being released from sin’s bondage remains the same. It’s the truth of the gospel message. Escape from sin is not a matter of invention but of creation.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Cor. 5:17)
New life, freedom and hope are found in Christ and in obeying His commands. If you are seeking personal growth, contentment and joy, the answer is staring you in the face (and it’s not a humanoid). Look to Christ! He is the sole source of a “reimagined” and “modernized” life. According to the Bible, the way you’ve been taught the truth in Jesus is:
Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph. 4:22–24)
Don’t seek high-tech answers when newness lies in putting aside your old way of life. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all the innovative things you need will be added to you. Keep your eyes fixed on the proper goal, the new heaven and new earth and on the One who says, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5).
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecc. 12:13)