FollowTonight I am due to lead the prayers at Gospelaires, so I have reworked my reflection this morning:
With the beginning of a New Year I wanted to take the opportunity to think about New Beginnings. Many people across the world will be yearning for a new start to some aspect of their life, making New Year’s resolutions – breaking New Year’s resolutions. Many resolutions will be focused on self-improvement: eat less; drink less; exercise more – gym owners up and down the country will be rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of new customers who will hand over their bank details and never set foot again in the gym. Other resolutions will be focusing on relationships with others: spending more time with partners; family; mending fences with neighbours.
As Christians, through Jesus’ death and resurrection we are given a new start every day for no other reason than God’s outrageous grace and unending love for us. But Paul reminds us that this “wipe-the-slate-clean” is not an excuse to continue in our old sinful ways – it is a once in a lifetime invitation to walk with God. Unlike New Year’s resolutions, it is not about what we want to do, or promising to do a few things we can – God wants no less than the whole of our lives; he demands that we do ALL we can to live the life He intends for us.
In thinking about new beginnings, I was reminded of a poem that really spoke to me a few years ago when I was in quite a difficult place: I had a young family; my wife had serious post-natal depression that was completely debilitating and one of the few pleasures we were able to share was reading poetry together. Mary Oliver’s “The Journey” spoke to both of us very powerfully: