New Year’s Resolutions from an Old Dead Guy
It’s the second week of January; how are your New Year’s resolutions going?
Is this year truly going to be the year you turn over that new leaf, or will 2016 be similar to last year? I hope and pray that 2016 will be one marked by growth and accomplishments for you.
A website called statisticbrain.com predicts the following top 10 New Years resolutions for 2016:
10. Spend more time with family 9. Fall in love8. Help others in their dreams7. Quit smoking 6. Learn something exciting5. Stay fit and healthy 4. Enjoy life to the fullest3. Spend less. Save more.2. Get organized.1. Lose weight.
Is your resolution for 2016 on this list? These resolutions are honorable, but I can’t help thinking that the majority of them are still pretty selfish and shortsighted, aren’t they?
Can I challenge you to compare this list to the Puritan preacher and reformed theologian, Jonathan Edwards? He created a list of 70 resolutions, beginning with this foreword: “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.”
If you read through his 70 resolutions, you’ll find that, in true Puritan practice, most of his statements beginning with the word “Resolved” have to do with reflecting on his spiritual life, refining his character, or readying himself for earthly death/meeting Christ.
It is as if Edwards was answering the question, “How can I please God more this year?”, instead of “How can I be happier?”
I find this amazing.
Here are a few that strike me as good examples for us in 2016:
5. Not just to lose weight, but to never lose (or waste) one moment of time honoring his heavenly Father.
37. Not to go to bed earlier, but to go to bed every night and confess the sins of the day.
65. Edwards resolves to exercise more, not for physical gain, but to exercise himself in spiritual habits. E.g. Bible reading, prayer, memorization, etc.
Please don’t hear this as guilt ridden or judgmental.
I’m realizing that the older I get and the more in love with the Gospel I become, the more I desire to please the One who saved my wretched soul. These thoughts are just encouragements to help you in this regard, and not steps to help you earn God’s favor.
Let’s not forget that 2000 years ago, Christ fully earned the favor of God and imputed that favor to us the day that we believed.
Would you consider, right now, making a few “eternally focused” New Year’s resolutions?
Here are a few of mine. Please, sometime this year, ask me how I am doing on these:- Read 1 book a month that is for my spiritual growth.- Share the Gospel with those on my “white harvest” card.- Read a book of the Bible for my quiet time often, instead of small chunks.
What would our church look like if all of us committed to honoring and pleasing God more with our lives in 2016?
Let’s commit to making resolutions this year that have eternal, rather than simply earthly, value. We have a choice whether we lay up treasures on earth or in heaven, for where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also!