“Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” (Luke 17:33)
Christmas is now over and our thoughts turn to the year ahead.
If you’re like me, you’ve already decided that 1998 is going to bring some major changes in your life. These “New Year’s Resolutions” are nothing more than outward and visible signs of things that are frustrating us in life. They are remedies to the failures that we have experienced. Interestingly, they often point to some our most glaring weaknesses.
Looking back at how we have lived is important. After all, as the saying goes, if we don’t learn from history, then we are sure to repeat it. But don’t look at just the physical, financial, or emotional dimensions of your life. Look at the spiritual progress that you have made over the last year. Are you closer to God today than you were this time last year?
1997 has been one of the most revealing years in my short, Christian life. I have come to understand so much more about God. I finally realize how much he cares about me.
God is helping me to change, and even though I am not pleased with the pace of things, I am beginning to agree that his way is best. The fact is any major change in my life will never last unless it comes slow enough for me to understand it. Indeed, as the Prophet Isaiah told us, “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)
It’s hard being a Christian in today’s world. The distractions and demands that the world puts in front of us mean that we are inevitably going to stumble. That’s why the Apostle reminds us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3:23) It’s a fact of life. Christians are not immune from sin. We just happen to running in a different direction.
The 1800’s songwriter, Horatius Bonar, realized that it’s the little things that can make or break the Christian. He wrote, “A holy life is made up of a multitude of small things. It is the little things of the hour and not the great things of the age that fill up a life… Little words, not eloquent speeches or sermons; little deeds, not miracles or battles, or one great heroic effort or martyrdom, make up the true Christian life. It’s the little constant sunbeam, not the lightning, the waters of Siloam that go softly in their meek mission of refreshment, not the waters of the rivers great and many rushing down in torrent noise, and force, that are the true symbols of a holy life.”
Most of us tend to look for big changes in our lives when we try to measure our spiritual progress. We shortchange God when we overlook the small victories he has brought our way.
This year instead of offering those New Year’s Resolutions that you never seem to be able to keep, acknowledge and enjoy the small changes that life can bring. It is there where you will find a loving and caring God who is more than ready to help you win the battles. After all, when he reached down and saved you, the war was won.
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