Alumni and Friends of Hope College,
Greetings! I am Dr. Alexander Jones, Hope’s new Vice President of Philanthropy and Engagement. I began this role on July 1 when I moved into Wyckoff Hall, my temporary home as I adjust to life in Holland and the Hope community. This has been a season of transition for me and my family. We served Wheaton College for ten years before moving to Roberts Wesleyan University in New York. The opportunity to champion Hope College in West Michigan came at an ideal time for us, and we could not be more excited to partner with President Scogin, our Board of Trustees, and you as alumni and friends of Hope.
Transitions, as I am sure you know, bring all kinds of newness. For us, we have to find a new school for our children, new grocery stores, new chiropractors, and new doctors, just to name a few things. Reflecting on the pace of change we are experiencing right now, I cannot help but think about Jesus’ parable:
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. (Luke 5)
Jesus’ Kingdom vision was new, and did not quite fit with the old way of living. Isaiah similarly references how God’s vision of newness transforms us:
Behold, I am going to do something new, Now it will spring up; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43)
If you are like me, I find this vision of newness compelling and exhausting! On one hand, I want to experience God’s revolutionary vision of restoring all things to Him. I want to experience the newness He brings to our lives. I want to swim in the River, not melt in the desert. And, transition is hard. I sometimes like the old wineskins! I may get used to the old roadways and desert paths.
Jesus, however, reminds us that His good gifts take a fresh wineskin. Isaiah reminds us that we need to be ready and aware for God’s new transformation.
At Hope College, it is a new year. Our students have filled our dorms and cottages; classrooms are vibrant. Our teams have started competing again. Alumni and Friends, I want to ask for your prayers for us as we embark on a new year, embrace God’s vision for a new Creation, and prepare ourselves to be “fresh wineskins,” ready to become aware of “something new.”
That is my prayer for you as well. As you find yourself in a season of transition–with family, with aging, with health, with moving to a new home, with babies born and friends passing away–remember that God is going to do something new.