Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new year. On this day tradition would have it that we take stock of our lives over the past year and make resolutions based on areas where we would like to improve. Be it weight-loss, better eating habits or the learning of a new skill it seems we all have a resolution or two that we would like to accomplish as we begin the new year.
Or at least, that’s the ideal. The reality is closer to January 1 being just another day on the calendar and most of us being pretty much the same on that day as we were on the days leading up to it. Human nature being what it is, unless something within us changes (or is changed) we aren’t likely to accomplish our goals, succeed in our resolutions and become the people that we should be.
That may seem like a skeptical point of view, but it is a viewpoint based on God’s word and the nature of sin. According to the Bible we’ve all fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) but that doesn’t mean we have to stay that way or are doomed forever to a life of misery. The Bible also says whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13) and that those who do so can experience abundant life in the here and now (John 10:10).
Salvation brings newness. Believing on the name of Jesus and receiving a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26) within us is transformational. The addictions and weaknesses of our past selves lose their grip and we become beings who are no longer enslaved to sin but are free to live lives of wholeness.
God’s promise is that he will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6) and that he will provide for all of our needs (Philippians 4:19) as we walk with him, day by day. This relationship, this experience, this transformation is the newness that we all need and is better than any new year’s resolution that we could ever imagine. And the work has already been done. The groundwork is already laid. All that remains for us is to believe and accept and abide.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV