Today something struck me that I’ve been thinking about for nearly fifty years.

A Lesson from Long Ago

When I was a senior in college, I took a new chemistry class that had just been introduced—Atmospheric Chemistry. It was taught by one of the most tenured professors in the department. Years earlier, he had begun studying the chemistry of planets, stars, and their atmospheres.

During his first few lectures, the professor systematically dismantled many of the doomsday theories popular in the 1960s and 70s—the same kinds of theories we’re still bombarded with today. But there was one concept he discussed that was not a theory at all: the impact of the Second Law of Thermodynamics on stars, planets, and galaxies. The conclusion was simple and sobering: everything is wearing out. Even the stars are burning out.

Scripture Speaks to Entropy

Today, while reading Hebrews, I was struck by how clearly Scripture addresses that same reality.

“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of Your hands;
They will perish, but You remain;
And they all will grow old like a garment;
And like a mantle You will roll them up;
Like a garment they will also be changed.”
(Hebrews 1:10–12)

Then Revelation echoes the same promise:

“Behold, I am making all things new.”
(Revelation 21:5)

And Isaiah proclaimed it centuries earlier:

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth…”
(Isaiah 65:17)

When the Stars Burn Out

This truth has been rattling around in my mind, heart, and spirit today.

Yes—the stars and the sun will burn out one day. And that day will mark the day God makes all things new. That will be the beginning of the forever of all things. That reality should be the foundation that shapes how I think, plan, speak, and live.

The Direction of Our Focus

If eternity is my ultimate, long-range focus, then I will be far more likely to make better decisions about:

• how I think about the moments of my days
• the things I turn from
• the things I turn toward

This is the kind of repentance the LORD desires to be active in my life on a daily, and even moment-by-moment, basis.

Repentance: The Constant Turning

Whether we call it repentance or not, every decision we make involves a turning—from something, toward something else. In that sense, repentance is something we are constantly doing. The Bible is God’s immeasurable love expressed—His yearning for us to have all the data (history) and wisdom (truth) we need to make the right turn-froms and the right turn-tos in life.

So that when the stars finally burn out and He makes all things new, we will have walked the mercy road that leads to the forever new earth of His grace.

What We Focus On Determines Our Turns

The word repentance often triggers resistance in us. Our stubbornness and self-centeredness recoil at the idea—yet we are already doing it every day.

We are always turning. What we choose to focus on determines the turns we make. God has given us all of creation as evidence of where our focus should be directed. In this passage from Hebrews, the heavens themselves seem to plead with us:

Turn from the temporary.
Turn toward the eternal.

God promises that this eternal focus leads to a genuine, forever relationship with Him on His new earth.

A Prayer for Better Turns

Dear LORD, most of the time I do not realize the small turns I am making in my days that may be quietly steering me away from eternal realities. Every turn is a turning toward something. My whole life is made up of these small steps of repentance. Dear Jesus, I ask that the nudges Your Spirit and Your Word give my heart would be deeply appreciated in my life—so that I will make more of the right turns today, and in all my days.