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.
There is an old saying that reads: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Another old saying is meant as a warning about the repetition of man and reads: “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Both of these sayings are very true, but not necessarily for the reasons that the original coiners intended.
This is the time of year when the largest number of people considers the person of Jesus Christ. While Easter is also a common time of such reflection, the Christmas season is still the time when many in the world, who normally give little thought to God or “religious” things, choose to return to the account of the birth of Jesus Christ.
In warfare the ultimate goal is to defeat your enemy. This can be accomplished through better training, better equipment, better tactics, and sometimes the unquantifiable nature of random chance, commonly known as the “fortunes of war”. Because victory is so important, a commander would want the very best training for his troops, and the very best weaponry available.
There are things our lives that we would like to change. We all have bad habits we would wish to break, choices we wish we had made differently, and other factors outside of our personal control which frustrate us. When one considers the reality of personal sin in light of the Bible’s teaching, this feeling of a need to change should grow exponentially. It is, of course, through Christ that any such change is possible, by being washed of His blood and conforming ourselves to the pattern of His life.