In the beginning…
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
[bl]A[/bl]ll beginnings need to begin with the Word. In the Word. Because the only way to begin anything is through Jesus. Healing begins with him. Discovery begins with him. True living begins with him. Satisfaction begins with him. Hope begins with him.
It’s divinely good that the birth of Jesus comes right before a new year, new beginnings, new living. For he is the new beginning. He is when new life became possible. A life restored to our Creator. A life that lives redeemed. A life that never ends.
So how do we begin a new year in Jesus? I don’t know the answer. But here’s what I’m asking myself in order to discern:
What values do I cling to that conflict with what God cares about?
Is it independence? The need to control? Safety? Health? Is it comfortableness? The need to look responsible? We hold tight to the values that have shaped us and become our very identity. To live this year more fully in Jesus, we must unlearn what we’ve been learning our whole life.
What activities/jobs/responsibilities do I regularly participate in that keep me from being available to God’s redemptive work? To new places he might want to take me? To new people he may want me to love?
Is it the continual cleaning of my home? Writing? Long nights of sleep? Activities with believing communities? The way I school so much at home? We get comfortable in our routines. In the habitual ways of doing, living, and being that shape our days and weeks. To live this year more fully in Jesus, we must be open to something other than the usual. We must ask ourselves why we are doing the things we are doing. We must be open and available to change.
What am I already doing that keeps me available to God’s redemptive activity in and through me?
Homeschooling? Writing? Opening my door? Fasting? Worshipping at home with a small community? Counting his graces? To live this year more fully in Jesus, I want to keep doing the things I am already doing that foster a closeness with God and an availability to his intentions.
This I know: Whatever separates me from God, I want to cut it out of my life. And whatever helps me cling to him, I want to hold tight and never let go. This year, I hope to discover even just a few of these. I want to abandon the ways of the world and live fully in Jesus all of my days. I want all my beginnings to begin with him, and all my endings to happen because of him. For our God is the Alpha and the Omega. He’s the beginning and the end…..and everything in between.
May this coming year bring him glory as we live our story apart of his.
