A Clean Slate

A Look Forward

A new year is one of those times when it is common for people to look forward in their lives and to make plans for the coming year. While it is true that such an attitude is possible at any time, with the annum of another year it is a fitting time for taking stock of one’s past and where one would like to be in the future.

The focus of this “look forward” typically is upon self-improvement of some fashion. It could be physical improvement with a renewed commitment to exercise. It could be a personal improvement by pursuing a particular skill or improving an existing one. It could be a renewed ambition to strive for a better job or to get promoted in the job one currently has. It each case, the idea is to end the year in a better state than one began it.

Falling Short

However, much of the cause behind such a refocus is the guilt of having fallen short of the previous year’s ambitions and plans. This can be, in effect, a renewed commitment to do some things which had been already “committed” to in the past, and never fallen through with. People at their core being generally want to improve their lives, and are very aware at how often they fail.

But, what should be of most importance as we look forward to a new year has little to do with our physical bodies, our job situations, our abilities and skills, or any other temporal concern. What is of most importance is how we plan to stand before our God. Will this year be the same as the last, or will it be better? Will we strive to seek and to serve all the more this year, or are we in need of simply recommitting our commitment to serve at all?

Leaving Regrets

A common practice at the dawning of a new calendar year is to leave behind the “regrets” of the past year. Such a thing is easier said than done; when the celebration ends, life remains pretty much the same as it was last year. But when it comes to God, we can leave behind every single regret simply by choosing to obey and to follow Him.

If we have not been the Christian we should be last year, then let us make a renewed commitment to God this year, and make that commitment right now! If we have not made any commitment to God before, what better way is there to enter a new year than by becoming a new creation in Christ through the Gospel (2 Cor. 5:17)?