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For people of a finite dimension new beginnings are important and we in the
Community of Faith also tend toward this. It is the reason that New Years Eve is so
celebrated around the world.
NYE marks the end of one year and the commencement of the next . For many of us
this is significant in that regardless of how good, or bad, our last year was . The
prospect exists that the year coming will be better. Whether this is a valid thought or
just cock-eyed optimism is beside the point. For at least one day we can all have the
same hope; things will be better tomorrow.
We tend to mark our life stages with new beginnings; from the day that we are born
to the day we die is punctuated with firsts. Parents take note of their baby¶s first
tooth, step, word, and birthdays are something else again
After a while and not just a few firsts, we get on toward more grown up challenges.
For in a way firsts are incremental challenges that track our path to maturity, in a
teenager these are things like the first crush, the first kiss, with girls they have one
that boys don¶t which is their first bra.
Alright to this point I have been talking about a series of developmental ³firsts´, there
is a connection in all this to our Christ faith. This connection is that the above events
occur once you might wish to have your first kiss back but it is gone any kiss after
that is subsequent. So it is with Christ, we meet Him on the plain of encounter and
by faith decide that He is who He is, if we move away from that point without Him it is
called a relapse and we need to return to Him. The unbelievable thing is that when
we do this thing He, full of love, will meet us where ever we are.
Where am I going with this? NYE is nearly upon us and so ma ny people will be
writing their lists and checking it thrice, their list of changes they intend to make in
this year to come, lists like they will make at the end of next year.
Why do they do it? They do it because they believe that they are autonomously
complete, that they are the masters of their fate and if everything falls right that they
can do anything that they set their minds to. The Bible sets it out that this is anything
but right. If this was right we would still be living in a perfect creat ion just like in the
Garden of Eden
Just consider these two verses the first is the last word about King Rehoboam.
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The second verse, spoken by Jesus, is following the challenge that the disciples
were gathering grain on the Sabbath.
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This is the God wonder that in ourselves we are unable to change even some part
that we dislike, but with God we can ³do all things.´ We do not need NYE to bring
change and in Christ we can change the world. He enables our personal change
and He is waiting for us to get a vision for the world ± a world that has been changed
by His blood and a people who follow Him completely.