Wednesday, January 2, 2013

KICKING OFF A NEW YEAR


                We have turned the page on the calendar and entered a new year. There is really nothing magical about the end of one year and the beginning of the next. It is just the way that we have chosen to mark time. In fact, not everyone marks the New Year at the same time. Chinese New Year will be celebrated on February 10 this year. It is the year of the snake. Iran will celebrate the Persian New Year of March 20. The Jewish New Year, called Rosh Hashanah, will be celebrated from sundown September 4 through sundown September 6.

                Whatever the date of the New Year, it is a good time to stop and reflect. Although making New Year’s resolutions may be nothing more than an exercise in wishful thinking, genuine reflection and evaluation can be very profitable. As we end one year and begin another, we are reminded that time marches on. The clock is ticking for each one of us and our personal expiration date draws ever closer. Just as we mark the seasons of the year by the calendar, we also mark the seasons of our life with each passing year. During each season of our life we face new challenges and new opportunities. Some of these are limited and, once passed, will not come again. Others will present themselves again, but in different forms.

                The Psalmist encourages us to pay attention to the seasons of our lives. Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalms 90:12 (NIV) We can rush our way through life, only to look back upon a trail of missed opportunities. Or we can reflect upon life and embrace the opportunities that come our way. True wisdom is being able to recognize the opportunities before us, and then respond to them in a positive way.

                The most important thing for us to grasp is the fleeting nature of life. Again the Psalmist calls upon God to open our eyes to this reality. "Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath.” Selah Psalm 39:4-5 (NIV)
When we are young, we think life will go on forever. As we enter middle age, we become more aware of the unstoppable movement of time. In our later years, we face the reality that our days are numbered.

                In light of the passage of time, how should we face the future? We should face it with positive confidence and enthusiastic anticipation. For the believer in Christ, the future always holds the potential for greater things. Our best days are not behind us, they are before us. Each day is a gift from God, which we can redeem in a positive way for eternity. Paul reminds us that even though our physical bodies are wearing down, our spirit and our soul continue to grow.

                        But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
                Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, 16-18 (NIV)

                Life can either be lived in cycles, like the cycles of the seasons, or lived intentionally moving forward toward an eternal goal. I don’t want 2013 to be a recycle of 2012. Instead, I want it to be a positive step forward in service for Christ. How about you?

                Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

No comments:

Post a Comment