Pastoral Ponderings—Happy New Year…
The day dawned just like any other—and yet, not. This day had never ever come before, and was so absolutely unique, that it would never come again. In some ways, it seemed like such an ordinary day, yet it marked the end of everything else that had ever come before, while at the same time, it was a beautiful new beginning. It was such a brief flash in the cosmic pan that though it was such a dramatic day, it was over almost as quickly as it had begun. Happy new year—and a perfectly unique opportunity to start everything new. Yet the same thing could be said of every single day of your life!
I don’t think our cats were all that excited about a new year dawning. It might even have been annoying to them as our celebrations interrupted their sleep (they don’t get to their wild playing until after about 3 am). I didn’t see any of the squirrels, chipmunks, deer or turkey in the area partying wildly either, so why do we? Are we just that eager to have a new start that we make sure we have it in our calendars every year?
Yet the Great God of all creation invites us all to a new start with Jesus, and with everything that really matters, any time we need it! Maybe that’s why I’ve never gotten all that excited about New Year’s Eve—it’s a little artificial—where the opportunity for a new start with God is as real as real can get, and you don’t have to wait for the calendar to come around to that opportunity again. And that’s a good thing, because New Year’s Day is as slow as Christmas!
Not that there’s anything wrong with enjoying a good party, so I hope you had a good one! But remember that the best part of any new year’s celebration, the new start that it offers, is available EVERY day, or at least every day with journey with Jesus! So if you’re afraid you’ll not be able to make it through January with your New Year’s resolution, or even if you’ve already messed up your new year—fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people—unto you is offered this day, a new start, as fresh as a newborn baby, only a prayer away! For this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Pastor Jim