New Year’s resolutions are primarily a joke, especially the ones about losing weight. So I don’t bother with them. For Christians, they should be unnecessary. My life already was bought with the highest price imaginable on the Cross. My response to that outpouring of divine love should be a constant resolve/resolution to put Him first in all things and to follow His lead as Savior and Lord of my life.
Consequently, I have no new resolutions to make, but as a historian I recognize the passage of time as significant and realize the transition to a new year is always a time for reflection. So while I’m not resolving anything new, this can still be a great time to reaffirm that to which I’m already committed. Here they are in order of priority:
- I reaffirm that my life belongs to Jesus Christ. I have no life apart from Him. There is no meaning to life without Him. I will therefore continue to develop that relationship above all others and seek to reflect His image as much as humanly possible with the help of His Spirit.
- I reaffirm my obligation to nurture the personal relationships with which He has blessed me, starting with my family. My wife, Jan, who is still going through cancer treatments, must come first. I will continue to be with her through this trial and offer whatever encouragement I can. I’m often deficient in knowing how to do this, but I am committed to improving. Our children are now out on their own, and they have their own children. While I am not a daily part of their lives [except long distance via Skype and Facebook], I still want to be the best father and grandfather possible, under the circumstances.
- I reaffirm the ministry the Lord has given me as a teacher. I will continue to strive to make my courses better each semester and cultivate a heart of love for the students who attend my classes. The same applies to the adult class I teach every Sunday and every other opportunity I have to speak truth before groups in my community and elsewhere.
- I reaffirm my commitment to this blog. I don’t see it as a means to raise my profile for egotistical reasons, but I would like to be seen as someone who has a Biblical perspective to bring to life generally, and to history, government, and politics in particular. I would also like my words to help bring clarity to readers, so that after reading one of these blog posts, they go away with another solid tidbit to add to their reasoning. Yes, I want them to be pondering principles.
These are my reaffirmations. Today is a new year. What I want more than anything is to be able to look back on this year one year from now and be satisfied that I have fulfilled them. If I fail in any of them along the way, I will go back to the One who gives me this life, repent of my failures, and receive forgiveness and grace to start again.