New Years – a chance to start over

Pastor Heath Wilson
Toms Creek United Methodist Church

(1/1) Oh New Years! We love a new year. It feels like we get a chance to start over. The year ahead is filled with all sorts of possibilities. We get so excited about changing to a New Year. This year probably more than most we are overly excited for it to change from the dreaded 2020 to a new year. And yet, the changing to a new year is a line that we as humans have drawn. We are the ones that created the calendar and decided what would make a new year and when we would consider a new year.

Yet a full rotation around the sun doesn’t really change anything, except make us older. The changing of the calendar to a new year is not really that special at all. God is eternal and a human year really doesn’t matter too much in the big scheme of God. Yet, what does matter is God wants a relationship with you. I mean if you really want to talk about something that can make a change to your life, it is not a ball dropping and midnight hitting marking a new year. Having a real relationship with the Creator of all things can actually make a real change in your life and can really matter.

I always think it is funny when people think a new year is going to change anything. Do you really think you are going to have any better control over what you eat just because it is a new year? Do you really think the new year is going to help you stop getting so angry when you are behind a slow driver or they cut you off? Do you really think a new year is going to give you the strength to overcome all forms of bad habits that we as humans partake in? Oh yeah, in our minds we think it is something magical and so we have an extra burst of motivation and strength so we last a little longer than we normal do when we make a vow to change.

Yet, in reality the success rate for new year commitments is quite low. I don’t say this to discourage you. I say this because there is something that can give you real strength. There is someone who can give you the power you need to resist temptation. It is not a new calendar with a new year printed on it. You can have all this and more by starting and growing a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The problem is growing a relationship is harder that turning the calendar to a new year. Yes, a relationship means you need to put in time and work to get to know someone and to spend time with someone.

Even after making a decision to make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior you need to continue to nurture that relationship. That means not just paying lip service but spending time in the Bible, spending time in prayer, spending time in worship with the Body of Christ aka the church. Oh yes, you can get so much more out of a relationship with God than you can from the turning of the calendar to a new month in a new year. There is a but though, but you need to invest the time and effort in that relationship. This can be one of the most rewarding relationships you ever invest in. It can change the way you live, it can give you power to overcome addictions and temptations that have tormented year after year. This is the type of relationship that will give you the power and strength to really achieve your New Year resolutions.

I have learned that we humans say we want to overcome something or be free from something but we really don’t want to put in the work. That is why we love the New Year and changing the calendar and thinking it will magically change our situation. The truth is as we enter 2021, all the baggage from 2020 will still be there. The clock is not going to strike midnight and the New Year is ushered in and all the crud from the previous is gone. Nope, it is not going to happen. We might try to point to things saying that it is proof that this New Year is going to be better. Yet, the reality is the changing of years has very little impact on our lives and our ability to change things that we don’t like.

If you are hoping this New Year is just going to be better because it is not 2020, well the truth is that you are probably going to be disappointed. Yet, I can tell you that a relationship with Jesus Christ will not disappoint. Oh yeah, some people that claim to follow Christ might disappoint you. You might have some outposts of the Body of Christ, aka the Church, disappoint you but a relationship with Jesus will never disappoint if you are willing to take the time to build up and grow that relationship. Jesus is so much better at providing the help you need than the changing of the calendar year.

So instead of hoping the new year is going to easily and magically make things better, I encourage you to invest some time reading the Bible, being in prayer, and being part of a church community. Normally, being part of a church community takes a bigger investment in time but thanks to COVID you have so many choices to start your relationship with the Body of Christ, aka the Church, right from home. So come on, decide this year you are not going to rely on the calendar to change things. Decide this year you are going to put your time, your effort, your faith in something much stronger and greater. Jesus is calling, come journey with him!

To learn more about Toms Creek United Methodist Church visit them on-line at www.tomscreekumc.com