2019: A brand new year.
Time for the lists. Best of. Worst of. Top 10. _____ of the year.
And resolutions. There will be lots of resolutions, things to begin or end, to do more of or less of. Gyms will be crowded for a couple of weeks.
Nothing really special about New Years Day. Like every holiday, it’s a day like any other, set aside as a reminder. January 1 reminds us that we can start over.
That’s the gospel, the Good News. The baby in the manger came to set us free from the past. We can decide every day to move forward into the light of a new beginning. Because of Him, every day is New Years Day.
All those resolutions are about expectations. Like most expectations based on the sandy foundation of human effort and will, they’ll fade like the early-year gym crowds. A future of human-dependent expectations is destined for anxiety and fear.
Jesus offered something different, a confident expectation based on faith that God always keeps His promises. That’s HOPE. HOPE isn’t a wish. It doesn’t depend on our strength or effort or will. HOPE leans on God’s strength.
HOPE allows you and me to live each day with courage and joy because we know God holds the future. We can release the anxiety and face the fear. We can live every day to its fullest, with generosity and grace. We can’t do that on our own.
HOPE changes what’s possible.
New Years Day reminds you and me that we can choose hope…today, tomorrow, and every day.