Saturday, January 7, 2006
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
A NEW BEGINNING
Every year on January first, a crisp new sheet of paper is laid out before us, perfect and empty, waiting for us to fill it with another year of life. So many mistakes are scrawled on last year's sheet of paper, but so much promise lies in the next page. On new year's eve all 365 days lay ahead of us like a field of freshly fallen snow. Unmarred. Untouched. The new year offers another chance, a fresh start.
Maybe this year will be full of the things that last year lacked. Maybe this year we will be free from the mistakes that tripped us up in 2005. Maybe this year we will be healthier, living a more full life. Maybe in 2007 we'll look back and say, 2006 was a success.
All this is possible at the start of a new year, and the new year holds it out to us. But as much as the new year offers, it is still just an offer of possibility, not of substance. For the new year can only offer us another chance, it cannot give us success. If the year 2006 could send us a card, it would read, "Wishing you all the best in 2006." A nice sentiment, but still just a wish.
Thankfully, our God gives better gifts than the new year can. For in Christ He has given us more than another chance. In Christ we are given the gift of God Himself. In Christ we are given what the soul longs for most, forgiveness and restored communion with our Creator. And this restoration in Christ is just the beginning of God's gifts.
God's card for today says, "Giving you all the best in 2006, from God in Christ."
As for new year's resolutions, Paul has a suggestion:
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him . . ." (Colossians 2:6).
