We all know in our heads that when the calendar changed at 12:00 AM this morning, there were really no major changes in the universe. We know that life goes on, oftentimes exactly as it has in the past.
However, there is a sense where we can reflect on and consider what, if any changes we need to make in our lives. There is the reminder that our God is the God of second chances. We can think about the truth that He does make all things new. We can be reminded that as Christians, we live in the land of beginning again.
In this New Year, we have the opportunity to choose whether or not we will focus on the struggles in our lives. Will we live in the future and choose not to be bound by past hurts, disappointments, and dejections?
As long as there are people, those of us who preach, will see our share of pain. This pain can come from elders who make what we believe to be foolish decisions, or seemingly no decisions at all. They can unknowingly, or sometimes intentionally ignore us, disrespect us, or mistreat us. Pain can come from members who say unkind things to us or who say nothing at all to us. Pain can come from loss. Pain can come from our failures. Pain can come from living in this broken, messed-up world.
The real question is not will we experience pain, the real question is what will we do with it. Will we allow it to defeat us, define us, or depress us? We can choose with our Brother Paul to do our best to forget about what is behind a move forward toward our eternal goal. This is one of the great blessings of the New Year.
If I heard it once growing up, I heard our Dad quote these words, seemingly one thousand times. May God bless you, my dear Brother, in this New Year. May He give you good health, much happiness, and a heart that is on fire for Him. I love you all very much.
