January 2006 Devotional

Happy New Year!!

I love the celebration of a new year – the excitement leading up to it, the fun on New Year’s Eve, watching the crystal ball drop in New York, and (I have to admit it) toasting with a smidge of champagne.  I even like the stupid hats and party horns.  Woo hoo!  I’m always up for a party.

But now that it’s already the third week in January, the new year seems like any other year – with rush hour traffic, running endless errands, mundane joyless activities like cleaning the toilet, and (at least for me) a diminishing commitment to New Year’s resolutions.  It’s sad, but I’m even over the thrill of writing “2006” on my checks.

So what’s up with that?  Well, good thing you asked, because I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about it and have some thoughts I’d like to share with you.  

First, (and let’s be honest), a “new year” is actually only a date on the calendar and not some breathtaking, dramatically different experience to brag about.  So, like a birthday, we celebrate the day as an event and then return to our everyday life.  Maybe what needs an injection of “newness” then is not the first of January but our lives!

In the pursuit of this concept, I turned to God’s Word (which is relevant to every area of life except maybe bobby pins).  (Just kidding – trust me, I could make a Biblical connection to that too if I tried long enough).  And I studied the word “new” in various passages.  You’ll have to do this sometime and be as amazed as I was about the plethora of interesting references to the concept of newness.  One particularly impacting section is in 2 Corinthians 5 -- the whole chapter, and specifically, verse 17.  So please bring out your Bibles and take a look at it with me, as it’s kind of lengthy to put in an emailed devotional.

This chapter focuses on the disintegrating nature of our human flesh (v. 1, the “earthly tent we live in”) and how we will receive new bodies in heaven.  But even more is the realization that we have already become new in Christ.  How?  And in what ways?  By virtue of his sacrifice on the cross (as substitution for our sins) and by accepting this amazing gift and living out its promise, we have already begun being “new creatures” (new people) who are no longer separated from God’s intimacy, but can enjoy a vital, growing relationship with him.  (Tell me that’s not cool!)  

As a result of this new relationship, signified by him calling us sons and daughters and giving us access to the family inheritance, God is making us -- literally transforming our hearts and souls -- to be more like Jesus.  We respond to this phenomenal generosity by endeavoring to give God all he deserves – our lives, our passions, our resources, our time, and our will.  And (get this), in turn we get from God the most incredible life we could ever imagine – both here and in heaven.  Now that’s some new stuff worth touting!  (And tooting, if you still have your New Year’s horns out!)

Corinthians tells us that our bodies literally groan waiting for the full and final completion of all this (vs. 4-5).  But I beg you -- don’t wait until heaven to enjoy it.  Nothing is more exciting and fulfilling than living life God’s way.  

If you are in a relationship with Jesus, a new day has already dawned.  Not a simple date that passes without lasting impact, but a lifetime of purpose and excitement, and an eternity of love and contentment.  During this “new year” I hope you will take stock of the real newness that is available to you and grab hold of it.  Let yourself embrace it, own it, pursue it, and be changed by it.  God wishes you not just a Happy New Year, but a miraculous, astonishing new life in Him.  Let’s bring out the party horns and celebrate!

Love,
Lisa Kinakin