Depending on where you are and what time I actually post this for the first time, you may have already entered the new year. Congratulations to you on another wonderful year of life in this difficult but glorious world. I'm in a mind to think of resolutions. This is the first time in many years that I don't have alcohol or worse in my presence to ring in the new year. I think of the major turning point in my life that I had in May of 2010 when I accepted Jesus into my life and asked for His help with my drinking. Many of you know that I consider a dramatic difference between believing and following and that is the time that I changed from a believer to a follower.
I don't usually even worry about resolutions, I've always considered them a waste of time and energy. I mean, let's be real, if you normally attend a gym to exercise in, you know what happens for the next 2 to 4 months. You'll be lucky to get a machine, or a class with all the temporary people there. By March, nearly all of them will be gone, back to their old habits and putting back on the weight they may have lost over the past few months. I would be one of those if I made that resolution.
What about treating people better? Being a follower of Christ I have begun to treat others much better already and intend to continue to improve. But if I wasn't a follower, without my heart being changed by regular bible study and prayer, honestly people would just begin to irritate me after about 2 weeks and I'd get just as cantankerous as before.
What about work? How about trying to improve my station in life by working harder, getting that promotion, stepping on someone else to climb a little higher? Doesn't really sound like me, does it?
I could honestly do better about my eating habits. When I'm at work it's not uncommon for me to eat out 2-4 times a week. So there is one to consider, and even if I only stick to it for a couple of months I'll save the family a chunk of change.
So, with all this in consideration, and knowing my own laziness that God is working on, little by little, I think I have a good idea for my resolution. I do hereby resolve to continue my studies of the Bible, the word of God. I also do hereby resolve to open myself up to Him more so that He may work through me and His light shine from me for others to see. I ask that He continues to shape me as clay on the potter's wheel and uses me as His tool for His work in our world. That I remember the lessons I have learned of peace and tolerance and that when I speak the word to others it's with love and humbleness in my heart.
As I enter the new year, I have classes that I'm going to be taking in January and February on money management and peacemaking, both with an emphasis on the Christian view and how we think Jesus wants us to handle these things. I hope to get a bead on a couple of my personal issues that have eluded me. Money, I've never had much and so need to learn how to handle what I have to make the most of it. How will the teachings of Jesus from 2,000 years ago translate into our modern terms? Peacemaking is one of those things I used to know how to do, but in the past 20 years I've become harsher, more cynical and less patient. I'm looking forward to seeing how Jesus wants me to react to adversity and how to deal with conflict.
So as you enter the new year, give some thought to your resolutions and what you can do to bring yourself closer to God in His perfect love. We are all works in progress, with different points to work on, different desires, challenges, habits, hang-ups and hurts. We think we can handle it on our own, but we're wrong. We need Him and we need each other to change us into the community of believers that He needs to do His work and bring Heaven on Earth.
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