I sat down this weekend to work on my New Year’s Resolutions for this coming 2018 year. The brief list below is roughly what I came up with.
- Know Christ (even more than I already do)
- Work on Translating Venutian Better (i.e. communicate with my wife better)
- Write One Blog Post Per Week
- Manage Time Better
- Get In Shape (at least a less round shape)
- Build Relationships (outside of family)
- Share Christ with More People
- Become a Morning Person
I’d planned on writing more detail about these things, but then my pastor preached a sermon wherein he touched upon these types of resolutions. Where are we placing our hope this year? There are so many things we can be tempted to hope in, like people, money and control (power). These things will all ultimately fail. Even making resolutions like this can be turned into hoping in our own ability to change ourselves.
I still want to do the things on this list, but I have been forced to think about why. Why do I want to do these things? Ultimately, I want to please Christ, but I think a major motivation is the removal of chaos. So many times I feel like I’m just holding on, white-knuckled, to the safety bar on a roller coaster like Steve Martin in Parenthood (1989).
I don’t like chaos. Having a rightly ordered life is a good thing, but it shouldn’t be the main thing. If I place my focus and hope on Jesus Christ and what he has already done for me, then I should (in theory) have a sense of peace even in the midst of the chaos. I do also recognize that peace is a fruit of the Spirit, and as such I cannot just generate it. It must come from the source… from the Holy Spirit.
As I step out into a New Year, I pray that God would help me to live according to His purposes and will. I pray that He would help me to strive to discipline my life so as to love God and love neighbor. And I pray that He will do the same for you. God bless and Happy New Year!