Dear Friends 

New Year's Resolutions   

Well, 2012 is here already!   And so we begin a New Year.  Some people traditionally make New Year Resolutions - resolving, committing to some new pattern, or lifestyle, or habit, or change that they hope will be long-lasting. But do new year resolutions generally last long-term?  Not usually.  For many of us they’re only made half-heartedly anyway, often broken apart quickly after they’re made, and thrown out with the tinsel and trappings of the post-Christmas clear-up!

But not all Resolutions are like that.   Some resolutions are precisely that - resolutions which are fixed in firm promises that will not, ever, be broken.  Jesus, the One who comes to save, comes to let us know that God’s promises stand forever.  Almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth, resolved to let all humankind know of His love - and He did so by giving his Son Jesus to be born as one of us, to share our humanness, to enter our everyday experience of life, and love and loss, that we each may know that we have a God who identifies with every aspect of our humanity, and He does so, in order that we might come to that place one day in our lives of knowing God’s love for us too, and living the rest of our lives in that love.

In Numbers 6:23-27, we find the beautiful blessing prayer:

The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face towards you and give you peace.

That contains some of God’s promises to us - that as we turn to Him, He will bring us to that place of blessing; that He will shine his face upon us and be gracious.  That he will turn his face towards us and give us peace.  And what a gift is that!

And that’s not a sunshiny-type promise just for the good times.  It’s a realistic promise and truthful promise for all the tough times too.  This is a promise from the God who will never let go, and who will love until the end of time. Of course, with any promise given by one party comes an invitation for trust in, and acceptance of that promise from the other.  I’m reminded of a “What if” poem by Rodney Buchanan, that helps us think of God’s promises and our invitation to trust in them, that we might live under His blessing.  May it help us draw closer to God throughout this new year and always.      

With love and prayers,