After taking a break for the holidays I’m back with a series of posts on resolutions to start the new year. Please feel free to comment and share your own resolutions for 2012. Next week, I’ll get back on the saddle for my study of the book Not a Fan. For Monday’s resolution, career, click here, Tuesday’s resolution, eating right, click here, Wednesday’s, losing weight, click here. Thursday’s, debt free, click here. Please feel free to share your resolutions in the comments. There will be a post tomorrow compiling them all.
Isn’t the goal of most New Year’s resolutions to be a better: friend, spouse, parent, employee? Maybe even to be a better Christian? But doesn’t the notion of being better require some definition of what it means to be good? Jesus challenges our definition:
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.” (Mark 10:18)
If no one is good (and yes, this is hyperbole) then aren’t we maybe chasing the wrong goal? In fact, aren’t most resolutions “I” centered? I want to be… I resolve to… This year I will…
Like the saying, “there’s no I in TEAM”, let me rephrase as, “there’s no I in JESUS”. As I hope you saw this week in my posts, most I-centered resolutions can be turned on their ear to be Jesus-centered. And isn’t that really how we become a better fill-in-the-blank, by being more like Christ?
So if anything, resolve this year to be more like Christ. (and you’ll notice there is a little I in there somewhere)
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, emphasis added)
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11, emphasis)
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)