Happy New Years friends!
I recently found out the most popular New Years resolution is joining a gym and losing weight…I’m sure this comes as no surprise. Common knowledge has it, that gym memberships surge in the month of January. It’s almost a cultural norm that as the ball drops and the clock turns the history page, we become magically inspired to shed our fast food investment we made the previous year. Yet, within a few weeks, we get caught red handed scarfing down a juicy Big Mac like the world was ending (OK it is 2012 and the impending apocalypse will be a free pass to indulge).
I’m not sure if you’re a resolution person or not. Chances are you might be like most Americans who set a few goals for self improvement only to find yourself settling back into old ways a few weeks into your resolution. Maybe you’re the other person that intentionally avoids setting goals and avoids the shame of failure. When a friend or family member asks you if you have any New Year resolutions in mind, you instinctively answer, “Why bother?” Yet, the base understanding of actually making resolutions is this concept of “change.”
As a Jesus follower, “change” should be at the top of my priority list. The Christian life is all about change and having the resolve to be continually altered into the life of Jesus. It should be my custom to take inventory of who I am and what areas of my life need focused attention and spiritual transformation. As a new year begins, it should be my desire to embrace a resolution of change and not just tweaking but complete overhauling. For me that means a resolve to embrace the words of Paul and make them my own; “But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” (Philippians 3:12,13)
We all want to change something, but we don’t know how to do it and we don’t know where to begin. We all dream of being something different and better than the person we are today. Advertisers know this; that’s why your email inbox is crammed with ads promising that you can lose weight now, make money overnight, learn a new language and become a better lover. I received one the other day titled, “Watch unwanted pounds melt away.” I like that metaphor. It sounds like fun. Take this pill or eat this supplement or drink this super-duper energy drink, and Presto! Those unwanted pounds will just melt away. What could be easier? But when we get up in the morning and look in the mirror, all we see is the same old person looking back at us. That’s why we move, change jobs, get a facelift, buy a new car, start a new career, find a new boyfriend, go to a new church, join a chess club, start working out, buy a new outfit, and on and on it goes. It’s not as if those things are wrong in themselves. Sometimes we need to make outward changes. But it’s not the outward stuff that trips us up. It’s the stuff on the inside that we can’t seem to fix.
Think about the struggles of your own life. What would you change about yourself on the inside if you could?
Would it be an impatient spirit?
Would it be a critical tongue?
Would it be envy of those around you?
Would it be a spirit of discontentment?
Would it be lingering resentment?
Would it be lust you can’t conquer?
Would it be financial mismanagement?
Would it be a guilty conscience?
Would it be an inability to work with others?
Would it be overbearing stubbornness?
Would it be a judgmental spirit?
Would it be a quick temper?
Would it be profound discouragement?
Would it be an inability to appreciate life?
Would it be an ungrateful spirit?
Would it be a disorganized life?
Would it be an inability to say no?
Would it be a mean streak you can’t seem to get rid of?
All of us are a work-in-progress. We’re not finished. We’re not glorified. We’re not perfected. We’re not completed. We’re all “under construction.” It’s hard to imagine what the final result will be, but God never stops working on us; there is so much work that needs to be done.
If you concentrate on your weakness, you will lose your confidence.
If you concentrate on God’s faithfulness, you will grow in confidence.
What makes us think that God will ever finish the job? In my mind’s eye, I picture God as a sculptor, working with a rough piece of marble. He’s working on a big chunk named “Mike Tatlock.” It’s a hard job because the chunk is badly marred, misshapen, discolored, and cracked in odd places. It’s about the worst piece of marble a sculptor could ever find. But God is undeterred and He works patiently, chipping away the bad parts, chiseling an image into the hard stone, stopping occasionally to polish here and there. Again in the words of Paul, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
My prayer for us this New Year, is that we will all overcome any pessimism and replace it with a renewed confidence in God’s ancient resolution to see our lives changed for His glory and our fulfillment.
This Sunday, we will be joining six other churches to inaugurate the New Year with prayer and worship. I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to be present, available and expectant for what God will do in your life this next season.
