For a while now I have really looked forward to the New Year, I just didn't really know why; it's not like I keep resolutions, so I haven't bothered making them in years. Not much changes for me between December 31st and January 1st, yet still I love New Year's day.
This morning, as I was mentally preparing myself for this day's to-do's, it dawned on me why I like the first of the year so much.
I get to get rid of stuff.
I hate clutter. Messes make me anxious.
Nothing sets me off like a room gone bad.
While I love Christmastime, it is also clutter time: too much stuff, too many decorations, too many new things mingling with broken-down old things.
The first day of January is my get-rid-of-the-clutter-and-get-simple-day. Oh yeah, I'm getting excited just thinking about all the organizing and de-junking I get to do today!
Others of you do make resolutions, and bless you for that. Being in the fitness industry I see a lot of resolution-makers come into the gym trying to get rid of "stuff" too. Most of them will be gone by March, but some really do give it the ol' college try and find great success in the Good Riddance resolutions.
So why is it that at this time of year we all have a desire to get rid of excess, whether it is excess weight, excess clutter, or excessively bad habits?
Well, I think there's a God-component to it...a spiritual need to reboot and draw closer to our maker. The book of Ecclesiastes says "He has also put eternity in our hearts" (3:11); this is that desire in each of us to be connected to something bigger, grander, and more important than our own little lives. It also implies a longing for the ways and the will of God...why else would we want stuff to be perfect and pain-free right now, even in the midst of a fallen and sinful world?
Man, we all long for something...better. So we resolve to lose weight, we resolve to clean the house more, improve the budget, make more money, volunteer, stop smoking, start giving. All this in an echo of the eternity God placed in our hearts.
Really, don't we all just feel like something is off?
When Jesus presented himself to the people of Israel as the fulfillment of prophecy he, essentially, read his own job description from Isaiah 61:1-3
This morning, as I was mentally preparing myself for this day's to-do's, it dawned on me why I like the first of the year so much.
I get to get rid of stuff.
I hate clutter. Messes make me anxious.
Nothing sets me off like a room gone bad.
While I love Christmastime, it is also clutter time: too much stuff, too many decorations, too many new things mingling with broken-down old things.
The first day of January is my get-rid-of-the-clutter-and-get-simple-day. Oh yeah, I'm getting excited just thinking about all the organizing and de-junking I get to do today!
Others of you do make resolutions, and bless you for that. Being in the fitness industry I see a lot of resolution-makers come into the gym trying to get rid of "stuff" too. Most of them will be gone by March, but some really do give it the ol' college try and find great success in the Good Riddance resolutions.
So why is it that at this time of year we all have a desire to get rid of excess, whether it is excess weight, excess clutter, or excessively bad habits?
Well, I think there's a God-component to it...a spiritual need to reboot and draw closer to our maker. The book of Ecclesiastes says "He has also put eternity in our hearts" (3:11); this is that desire in each of us to be connected to something bigger, grander, and more important than our own little lives. It also implies a longing for the ways and the will of God...why else would we want stuff to be perfect and pain-free right now, even in the midst of a fallen and sinful world?
Man, we all long for something...better. So we resolve to lose weight, we resolve to clean the house more, improve the budget, make more money, volunteer, stop smoking, start giving. All this in an echo of the eternity God placed in our hearts.
Really, don't we all just feel like something is off?
When Jesus presented himself to the people of Israel as the fulfillment of prophecy he, essentially, read his own job description from Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news
to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim
the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance for our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and to provide for those who grieve in Zion-
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
Do you see the reboot going on in that passage? It's not like Jesus is unaware that there are atrocities happening every day on this planet; he knows it first-hand and experienced many of those atrocities himself! Jesus knows that the poor need good news, he knows the brokenhearted need binding up and the captives need to be freed. That is what he came to do: Reboot the world!
In this "something's off" kind of world we live in, Jesus Christ offers us all the best word: instead.
He wants to get rid of our ashes and instead give us beauty...reboot!
He wants to get rid of our mourning and instead give us gladness...reboot!
He wants to get rid of our spirit of despair (re: depression, loneliness) and instead give us praise, gladness, and joy...reboot!
So, how can we participate this year in the process? What do you need to get rid of and do instead?
Less tech time and more Bible study?
Less isolation and more accountability?
Less selfishness and more service to others?
Or are you living in outright sin and need to get rid of your pet sin and instead develop a closer walk with God?
It's time for a reboot, people.
If any of those "insteads" above spoke to you, why not get a group together and go through my newest Bible study, "We Call Him Father"
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