New Year New You?

When the clock strikes midnight on January 1st, and the new year begins, so do a lot of good intentions. Have you ever kept a new year’s resolution? If so, good for you! Resolutions have become something of a cliche and with good reason. They rarely work because they require you to make a change in yourself. While we have the capacity to make limited changes for a short time, we do not have the power to make all the changes we want.

Why not?

We each have a drive to do what is wrong even if it hurts us. This is why some people are selfish, some are proud, some are promiscuous, some are greedy, and some are cruel. While we use our mind and body to restrain these hidden desires, we cannot control them. So, we feel a struggle when we try to change in some good way - because it is contrary to the way we are. The Bible explains that we were born this way. Long ago, in the garden of Eden, Adam - the first man - sinned. He followed his own will and rebelled against God. From that day onward, each person born has inherited Adam’s broken, sin-filled nature. Popular culture today tells us that we are good people, that there is nothing wrong with us, that we can achieve anything we set our mind to and that there is no such thing as sin. This is not true. Deep inside we know we are not perfect. We are sinful - so much so that God says, “there is none righteous, not even one, there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God, all have turned aside…there is none who does good there is not even one.”

This sounds very dismal, but God has provided a solution for it. We need to agree with His assessment of us, and confess our brokenness and our sinfulness to Him. We need to set aside any trust we have in ourselves, and place ourselves completely in God’s hands. When we do this, He will make us new by giving us a changed heart, and a changed life. With the changed heart come new desires and goals based on our new relationship with God. It will no longer be contrary to our nature to do what is right. 

The new life is the life of God that loves to do what is right, a life that lasts forever, full of endless joy.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the Old things passed away; behold new things have come.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17

HAPPY NEW YEAR!