Happy New Year! Perhaps like many of you, I'm a fan of New Years' resolutions. Whether we keep them I guess is a matter of personal resolve and discipline.
One of the things my wife and I enjoy doing at this time of the year is thinking back over the past year and seeing how God has uniquely blessed our life and marveling for just a moment at not only His provision, but His sovereignty.
God has always provided for us and we can look to some simple blessings like our home and our health as reminders of His faithfulness. I also see Him at work in my ministry and in my family... at work behind the scenes to advance our ministry and give us favor where it is needed.
Regarding the new resolutions, along with the normal "spend more time at the gym" and "lose weight this year" types of resolutions, I admire the more spiritual as well. It can be said that becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ is both an instant occurrence as well as a life long happening. Paul encourages us to “be conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Romans 8:29). Even in this life, we “are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
That sounds like a pretty impressive resolution for each New Year don't you think? Like children that continue to grow, our Christian life should be measurably different and improving with each passing year. This is part of the maturation process and I'm happy to know that God isn't done with me yet.
While one of the first steps may be making that resolution to "become more like Christ", I believe one of the most important things I can do is to spend more time with Him. Time spent in daily prayer, Bible reading and just simple worship will do wonders in improving my spiritual maturity.
For those of you are are also "becoming more like Christ", enjoy the journey. I'll likely be seeing you along the way!
