This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. – Exodus 12:2

Today's Scripture Reading (September 29, 2021): Exodus 12

In "A Great and Terrible Beauty," American author Libba Bray argues that "In every end, there is also a beginning." Every time that something ends in our lives, something also begins. When one dream dies, or what might have been more of a nightmare, we are presented with the opportunity for another dream to start. It is an eternal cycle.

But sometimes, there is an event that shakes our calendars and forms a significant new beginning. The birth of a nation is one of those events. Almost every nation has a holiday that annually celebrates the nation's birth or some other significant event that has shaped the country that we know today. Britain is one of the exceptions. The United Kingdom has no National Day of Independence but instead often uses the Queen's birthday as a day of national significance. France celebrates Bastille Day on July 14, commemorating the Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, a significant event of the French Revolution. In Mexico, September 16 is a National Day of Celebration in remembrance of the start of the Mexican War of Independence in 1810. In the United States, Independence Day falls on July 4, commemorating the American Declaration of Independence, ratified on July 4, 1776. And in Canada, Canada Day, July 1 every year, celebrates the anniversary of the Canadian Confederation, which occurred on July 1, 1867. Each of these observances, and many others, celebrate a moment when something significant died and made room for a new reality in the process. 

As the slavery of the Israelites approaches its end, something new and wonderful is being born. And God instructs Israel that they are to remember this moment, not just with a celebration (although there would be a celebration), but as the beginning of everything. This was their birth, and everything that was before was suddenly ancient history. God was doing something new.

British Bible Teacher, G. Morgan Campbell (1863-1945), said that "God is ever the God of new beginnings in the history of failure. The ultimate statement is found in the Apocalypse in the words: 'Behold, I make all things new.'" It is something that he is still doing, turning our failures and our nightmares into something new. And if we listen really closely, we can still hear him saying, "for you, this is the first month of the rest of your life. Your history starts now, and everything that came before is ancient history and has no influence on who you are now or on your future. Behold, I am still making all things new."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 13