Awww,
change is in the air! The first of every new year is always filled with chatter
of resolutions, new goals, and a fierce determination to do that thing that we've been putting off for
too long (if you don't believe me, just go to any fitness center the first few
weeks of January). However, what can actually happen (more often than maybe
we'd like to admit), is our goals are derailed by the lack of attention, time,
energy, resources, or will to get them done, thus leaving us disappointed and
disillusioned. Sigh!
When considering
this, a scripture comes to mind. In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul writes:
13 Beloved, I do
not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do:
forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the
goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
One thing is for sure.
Change is inevitable; it's all around us. Whether we agree with it or not,
understand it or not, or want it or not, everything must change. Therefore we
are faced with the challenge to either be a part of the change or fall victim to
it.
I love Paul’s
honesty and vulnerability in this text. He unashamedly admits that he doesn’t
have it all together. But one thing he’s gotten down to a science, is the
ability to let go of the past and press toward what lies ahead. For me, this
means that Paul has decided not be thrown to and fro by the waves of a changing
world, but instead he has chosen to be an active participant in life, engaging
the change…even striving for it.
New Year's Resolutions aren’t always
good agents of positive change in our lives. While they can help us focus on
areas of life we'd like to actively change, they can too often feel like a fad
or trend rather than a real commitment to transformation.
In my next few blog posts I'll use this
text and offer some of my thoughts around being involved in real, lasting, positive
change in our lives. I’ll also suggest ways we might embrace the change that we
don’t necessarily welcome or find positive.
It’s a new year! It can also be a new you!
Let’s embrace the grace and power of a loving God and let’s strive toward the
mark of our high calling!
Love ya!
Pastor Ray
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