New Year’s Resolutions

A Church article with View Comments posted 26 December 2009.
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This article ran in the January 2010 issue of The Messenger, the newsletter of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Sterling, IL.

As we look past Christmas and into January, many people are thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you’re thinking of losing weight, eating more healthily, or exercising more. Perhaps you are going to read more books or take a night class. I even know people who are thinking about giving up late night TV in favor of more sleep. What all of these goals have in common is self-improvement. The fresh, unblemished year stands before us, and we naturally want to make the most of it – and the most of ourselves.

Self-improvement is a noble goal, and I want to suggest one more goal to add to that New Year’s Resolution List. What about your relationship with Jesus Christ? Whether you’ve been attending church for 3 months or 30 years, all of us could use some work in this area. Every member of St. John’s who is able to should be involved in regular worship, regular giving, regular education, and regular fellowship. Worship reconnects us with God and God’s word, and through worship and the sacraments we are improved by the renewing of our hearts and minds by God’s grace. Why not resolve to attend worship regularly? Giving conditions us to respond to others generously and faithfully. Why not examine your own giving to your church and other worthy causes, looking for ways that you can expand your generosity? Education opens our hearts and minds to the ways that God is working in our lives and in the world. Why not get involved in Sunday School or an evening group like Lectio Divina? Fellowship is where we strengthen each other for life’s journey. Why not make coffee hour a regular part of your Sunday mornings?

You know, the trouble with New Year’s resolutions is that we so seldom follow through on them. The busiest season for private membership gyms is January and February, because people sign up for year-long gym membership contracts and then quit going. So, rather than regard these as just more duties to be added to an already long list or just more commitments to be added to an already full calendar, instead think of them as ways to respond to God’s faithfulness in our lives. Unlike the bathroom scale, God forgives our mistakes and beckons us back into relationship a relationship with Jesus. It is my prayer for you, as we move into 2010, that you enter into a deeper and richer relationship with the One whose love always resolves to find us and keep us close.

Blessings in this New Year!

- Intern Ted Carnahan

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