One of the reasons I began to speak about this kainos was partly for its implications for present life as a Christian, but mainly to speak about the eternal delights of newness/freshness/youthfulness.

Just over a week ago, we saw an old lady pass into eternal glory. She was such a testimony to every believer who knew her. She lived a hard, outdoor, farming life. Her husband died and she continued alone on the farm. Her house was always spotlessly clean, as was her farmyard. She lived without electricity or any modern conveniences. She was attacked and robbed on her farm, once even assaulted and tied up and left on the concrete floor all night in the coldest part of winter. Yet she was so full of life and youthful vigour. She was continually overwhelmed by the Lord’s goodness to her.

She eventually got so old that she had to go to a home which provided frail care, but even there she didn’t like living with all of the old people (even though she was older than most of them). The difference was that she was full of the kainos that God has built into His people. She eventually had a stroke that left her bedridden and unable to communicate properly, but she was still trying to speak. There were things she wanted to say! Her heart was full like that of a young, vibrant woman. Within days of the stroke she blasted into eternal glory.

Now, kainos comes to life. Consider her in the presence of the glorious Christ. She is sealed in youthful vigour for ever and ever. That process of becoming newer and newer in the heart while becoming older and older in the body has come to an end and the newness in her inner person is complete! She is glorified. She is truly forever young. Her joy knows no bounds. If Paul could say that while labouring in a sin-cursed world, how much more can she say that in glory? (2 Corinthians 7:4). She has been elevated to a state that is untouchable by oldness or staleness through the endless ages of eternity.

Her smile is radiant, she beams with a beauty yet unseen in this world. Her experience of existence is beyond the grasp of our fallen minds. Even in glory, it will take eternity to discover the full blessings God has lavished on His people.

Do you see the kind intentions of God? Do you see that before the creation of the world, it was these thoughts of love and mercy that flowed in His great heart. Thoughts to make a creature whom He will so bless with glories beyond comprehension, that their experience of discovering His delightful intentions forever will be an incomparable thrill. It was the intention of God to create a creature that could spend forever continually making new discoveries about the delightfulness of God and His intentions toward him.