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?
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