“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
A New Thing
One of Canada’s newest museums is an extension of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Opened in 2021, the Qaumajuq (KOW-ma-yourk) is groundbreaking for its scope, housing the world’s largest collection of contemporary art by Inuit. Its 14,000 works—most previously in storage—represent more than 2,000 artists. In addition, 7,400 pieces in the museum are on long-term loan from the Government of Nunavut. The building itself is an impressive sight: The white-granite façade ripples, mimicking snowdrift landscapes seen by Los Angeles-based designer Michael Maltzan on a trip to Nunavut.
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I have heard too many people tell me, “I am a product of my past. I can’t change that. I am what I am”. There are many people who find their identity in all that has taken place in their lives – the joy and victory, the pain, the loss, the failure. They feel bound by this, and as they look to the future they do so with no hope. The Bible teaches something altogether different. Listen to what the prophet writes in Isaiah 43:18-19: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” The entire Bible narrative is that of God redeeming and transforming all the damage that sin has done. The New Testament tells us that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation – the old is gone and the new has come. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, He wipes away the pain, the loss, the failure, and replaces it with hope, joy, peace and the path forward to new life.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley