In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. -John 1:1, 14 (ESV)
We made it. Now what?
Last year we dreamed about making it to 2021. We kept saying things like, “We can’t wait until 2021. We can’t wait to put 2020 behind us. If we can only make it to 2021.”
We are now on day four of 2021. It seems like only moments have passed since 2020. We still have so much unfinished business from 2020. We have so much work to do in 2021.
Thinking about the year ahead can feel overwhelming. We may feel tempted to put too much pressure on getting things right in 2021 that we miss a very important fact. We are not in this alone. The fact of the matter is, God is with us.
Whether we reach our 2021 goals or whether we even set goals, God is with us. Whether we get everything right this year or whether we get nothing right this year, God is with us. God doesn’t measure our success based on how many goals we reach. God doesn’t even measure success based on church membership or church work. God doesn’t even measure us at all.
God’s objective is that we have a relationship with God and that this relationship permeates all that we are and do. God was so consumed with this objective that God sent Jesus Christ to dwell among us to show us who God is and how much God loves us. God confined all that God is into flesh just to be close to us.
The funny thing is, we don’t even take advantage of all that God has to offer. We don’t even touch the tip of the iceberg when it comes to God. We are so busy trying to gain God’s approval that we miss God’s grace. We are so consumed with being blessed by God that we miss the blessing of God’s presence.
Why not do something different this year? Why not make 2021 about every single moment of 2021? Why not resolve to do one thing and one thing only – experience as much of God as we can for as many moments as we can. Then, let the rest fall into place.
If you have not set any New Year’s resolutions, why not wait until after you have spent time with God? If you have already set your goals, before trying to reach them, why not give yourself some time to enjoy the moment with God?
God has been here since the beginning of time. God is going to be here until the end of time. God was, is, and will be here where there is no time – eternity. We have God all to ourselves, so why not take advantage of it? Let’s make 2021 about one thing, experiencing and sharing the best kind of love – God.