Happy New Year

January 1, 2021

Happy New Year! Last year, the fateful 2020, is finally over! When we celebrated the new year exactly one year ago today, most of us looked forward with hopeful anticipation to what the new year would bring. We celebrated, laughed, planned, prayed and hoped in blissful ignorance. I wonder…Had we known what was about to happen in the world, what would we have changed?

New beginnings. This time of year usually stirs in us a sense of hope, a feeling that the old is gone and the new is here, and that each of us can do better. That’s where New Year’s resolutions come in: they stir a hope in us, unite us in thinking about our goals and creating a vision. Although there is nothing wrong with New Year’s resolutions, I must confess that I have not made one for years. Some years ago, I took a different approach to the New Year, and stopped making New Year’s resolutions, in part because I was painfully aware that I never kept my resolutions and felt it was not the way to go for me. I am in good company there: studies show that between 75% and 96% do not keep their resolutions, and that resolve starts to weaken, or is gone, in the first week! I eventually felt that resolutions were futile and self-defeating for me, increasing pressure and resulting in failure. So why bother?

But God…regardless of what I do or where I am, I am never alone. God is with me; He knew me and what I would be doing before it was even the flicker of a thought in my mind; He made, formed and created me, and knows what is best for me. I wonder what He would say about New Year’s resolutions, or what He would expect of any resolutions I would make?

What my God wants from me is quite simple: Jesus said in Mark 12: 29-31:

“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. “(KJV)

First and foremost, He wants me to love Him completely, with every fiber of my being: ALL my heart, soul, mind and strength. Although Jesus said it in the gospels, when He was on earth, it is a commandment that God gave to Moses up there on Mount Sinai in the middle of the desert. God has always wanted His people to love Him and to seek Him first with everything they have. He has always wanted the worship of His people, their adoration, devotion and obedience.

“Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” Exodus 34:5-7 (NIV)

God still wants this of you and I. Jesus took the first of the Ten Commandments and made it relevant and real for His followers and for us today. We tend to have an assumption that there are rewards if we believe in God and follow Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, but no consequences if we do not. Take a step back for a moment…does that even make sense? If you are a parent, you have probably taught your children about natural consequences, and even allowed them to experience those natural consequences as part of their learning and growth. If you have a parent, you have probably felt some anger and resentment that your parent allowed you to experience those consequences. If we, as human beings, would do that to our children because we believe it ultimately helps them, why would we think that God would expect less? Why would we think He would deserve less?

Back to resolutions…that first commandment is my resolution every day. Simple, yet profound and difficult, because it goes against the human grain. I do not accomplish it perfectly at all. I don’t pray as much as I should; I forget to always pray first. I don’t read His Word as much as I should; sometimes I don’t read it at all. I don’t spend enough time with Him in prayer, worship and relationship; sometimes I am too quick to go into the ask, rather than stay in worship. But every day I can strive to make it better, give Him one more thought, one more minute, one more prayer; every day I can strive to give Him the glory and the gratitude in every situation; every day I can resolve to be His light in a world of darkness. I guess it sounds like a resolution; the difference is that because His mercies are new every day, I can wake up in the morning and try again, even if I failed yesterday. When a resolution is broken, it is just another broken resolution in the pile with the other 90+%.

Secondly, God commands us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Josh Wilson released a song in 2020 called “Revolutionary” that caught my attention:

“Why does kindness seem revolutionary
When did we let hate get so ordinary
Let’s turn it around, flip the script
Judge slow, love quick
God help us get revolutionary”

Kindness is a heart thing. Sometimes I can do all the right things, but my heart is not in it: my actions come from a place of obligation and not love. Even worse, they might even come from a place of expectation and not love: I, others or culture might have expectations about what is right and acceptable, that are devoid of heart and the love of God.

Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14 (NASB)

I’d say that’s pretty clear. And yet, I can get it so wrong! My motives for doing things, showing kindness, may not always emanate from that place of love. Although I may not outright experience hatred, at the very least, I may be apathetic or indifferent at times. That is not what God expects of me. Jesus Christ was not apathetic towards those who sought him out; He gave them His attention, time and love. Matthew 12:15b says: “…Many followed Him, and He healed them all,”. Jesus did this knowing that the Pharisees were plotting to kill Him. That kind of love amazes me, and can only be where the presence of God is. Every day, my second “resolution” is the second commandment.  May God give me His heart to love like He does, His eyes to see as He does, and more grace to do His will each day.

New Year’s resolutions depend on me as a person to accomplish them; obedience to the Word and will of God is a partnership between my God and me. My hope is not found in resolutions or in my ability to stay true to them. My hope is found in Christ alone, in His saving grace and His finished work. My hope is found in the knowledge that He will be back one day, arriving in glory for all His people: there will be no need for New Year’s resolutions because we will be fully in His presence forever.

Until that time, rest and remain in His presence; let the light of our Sun shine on you each day. I pray that you will know Him more each day, love Him more each day with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and that kindness will overwhelm you. Thanks for reading.