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Once again it is the time of year when people make resolutions. The most popular topics to make resolutions about are fitness and food. ‘Must exercise more, must eat less.’
We can be changed and goaded into doing new things by our resolutions. Perhaps an exorbitant gym membership fee will be paid out. Perhaps a diet plan will be sketched on the back of an envelope. Christians may add resolutions about church attendance, prayer and Bible reading. For many years I have spent some time at the end of a year pondering my personal devotions and making resolutions to improve!
There is something about the flipping of a calendar year from December to January which makes us feel it is time for change. Self-assessment. Critique. Improvement. Review. The making of new year’s resolutions.
From one perspective, new year’s resolutions are innocent enough. Harmless and perhaps helpful. However, Christians may do well to reflect upon the underlying assumptions. For resolutions are about something which lies at the heart of Christianity: change.
Our world assumes it knows all about change. Our culture is constantly in flux. We are exposed to a myriad of perspectives. Technology, medicine, education and politics are in a state of incessant change. People think that they can change career, family, country and appearance as they desire.
We assume change is easy and within our power. Yet Jesus challenges our assumptions about how possible change is. Jesus told a religious scholar that if he wanted to change and enter his kingdom, he had to be ‘born again’. Jesus told an eager rich man that it would be ‘easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle’.
Jesus spent years living with, teaching and showing his disciples who he was and what it would mean to follow him. Yet they constantly failed to get it and were declared by their master to be ‘blind, dull and slow’.
Perhaps change is more difficult than we assume? If so, then resolutions may pose a threat to our spiritual health. They might deepen our muddle-headed belief that resolve and strength can affect change. It is frightening and liberating to realise that change in the Christian’s life is more delicate and deep than any resolution.
As we look to the death of Jesus by faith, we find that his Spirit grows fruit in us. Keeping in step with that does involve effort on our part; but at a deep level it also means forsaking the mistaken belief that our resolve and resolutions can bring about the change God requires.
Photo by Tojosan
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