Happy New Year! We have just celebrated the turning of a calendar page. Tradition has it that this is the time to start anew; to break bad habits and resolve to start good habits. A new beginning; yesterday is a memory and we have the whole year in front of us. However, the habits we resolve to break are often the same ones we resolved to break last year. I am reminded of Jesus’ words as I - again, resolve to do better this year. “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” (Matthew 26:41b)
Unlike our trivial resolutions, Jesus was serious. This wasn’t just a passing comment. He was at a critical point in his life, more critical than we will ever understand, and all he asked of his followers was to stay awake and pray with him. The entire wrath of God was being let loose on him; he was bearing the weight of the sin of the world on his body and soul. At this moment, the moment he was most vulnerable, the moment he was the most human, was the moment he needed his friends the most.
Jesus asks so little of us and yet we so often disappoint him. Why couldn’t the disciples understand who Jesus was? We’ve asked that question many times. Well, why can’t we understand? After all, we have about two thousand years of history that proves Jesus is who he says he is. Why can’t we change our habit of not putting Jesus first?
The answer to this question is up to each of us, just as it was up to each of those who were with Jesus in Gethsemane that night. Just like us, they tried. Most of us really try to put Jesus first. Many of us resolve to do this daily. First thing in the morning we say, “Jesus, you are the Lord of my life.” And every evening we say, “Jesus, please forgive me, I promise to do better tomorrow.”
The fact is we will never get it completely right. This is part of the plan. God is God and we are, well, human. And that’s just fine. When we wake up with Jesus, go through our day trying our hardest to live the things that Jesus taught, and then go to sleep with him, we’ve done what Jesus wants. We’ve tried and we will continue to try. Our New Year’s resolution has been turned into a daily resolution.
As we anticipate the new year with all its possibilities, as a body of believers as well as individually, we know that Jesus is with us. Our joy is complete because we know that he has promised to be with us forever. Our forgiveness is secure. Jesus sealed that on the cross. We can praise God and face whatever this new year will bring with the assurance that although our flesh is weak, Jesus is strong.
Prayer: Precious Lord Jesus, we can’t ever thank you enough for what you did for us, but we can live a life of praise and gratitude, always seeking to please you, always praising you for the mighty works of your hands. As we begin this new year, we resolve once again to be the people you want us to be, acknowledging every day that you are our Savior. In your name we pray. AMEN
Helen Schindler
Pastor
Bethel Baptist Church
Casper WY |
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