A New Year's Resolution that Works ~ Galatians 4:4-7 ~ Name of Jesus / New Year's Day

I am no fan of New Year’s resolutions...

It's not that I think that it's a bad idea to strive for better health and wellness...

I don’t like New Year’s resolutions because we all know how most of them turn out...

Very often, this year's resolutions are the same ones from last year that we didn't keep-- and that certainly doesn't help with our self-confidence.  Right away, we feel like failures; right away there’s doubt that we can actually succeed and achieve our goals…

It doesn't help that the new year comes only a week after Christmas-- because we always have expectations of what Christmas should be-- and most of the time, it never lives up to those expectations.  We haven't forgotten about those gifts we should have bought; those meals we should've cooked; those cards we should've sent-- and all that junk food we shouldn't have eaten... 

So as we turn the page on a new year, we carry a great deal of guilt...  Guilt is a monster that keeps us in a constant state of shame.  It is what is always reminding us how often we've tried and failed; and always telling us "no, you can't."  Guilt would have us believe that we are destined to go through life being forever imprisoned by our faults and failures. 

But guilt also has a way of pushing us into doing things we were never meant to do.  It turns us into people-pleasers who spend every ounce of our energy in winning other people’s approval-- but we seldom (if ever) take care of ourselves.  We push ourselves to our limits, and beyond-- all the while believing that's the right thing to do...

And when it comes to our relationship with God, guilt is one of the devil's most destructive weapons…

Guilt is nothing but the devil's voice telling us that God looks at us with total disgust.  We're unlovable, unforgiveable, and un-savable because of who we are and what we’ve done...  It would have us believe that we’re God’s enemies—and that there is no place for us in the family of God. 

If the devil cannot succeed in turning you against God, the devil’s next tactic will be to try and make you believe you that God is against you.  The devil’s greatest victory would be for you to believe that you are beyond redemption—and that there is no hope for you, either in this life or the next. 

But nothing could be further from the truth that God’s Word speaks to us today…

Before Christ, we were slaves to sin.  In other words, sin (and the devil) exercised full control over us.  This meant that everything we ever did (even the good deeds) were works of evil.  And sin controlled our future.  We were, in essence, walking dead-- because sin leads only to death. 

But Jesus Christ has changed all of that.  We are no longer slaves to sin.  Our chains are gone.  Christ now rules in our hearts; Christ now rules over our future. 

We were God’s enemies—but through Christ, we are God’s own daughters and sons.  That means that when God looks at you, God does not see you for your faults and failings…  God sees a beloved child; one loved so very much that the precious body and blood of Jesus Christ were not too high a price to pay to make you God’s very own… 

And in God’s eyes, there is no one who is un-savable; there is no one whom God would refuse to adopt as God’s own…  Our adoption is a free gift of grace, given to us by the merits of Christ.  And if that wasn’t enough, we are children with full rights of inheritance.  This means that the fullness of Christ’s eternal inheritance is also hours. 

We don’t have to live in shame; we don’t have to be burdened by guilt.  And we especially do not have to live in terror before our holy and righteous God.  We can come to God as children, calling upon God as ‘Abba, Father,’ just as Jesus did. 

Back when I worked in the bookstore, rule #1 in hiring new employees was this: “past performance indicates future performance.”  In other words, we look to a person’s past to determine what kind of employee they’re going to be.

Well, that rule has no place in the Kingdom of God.  Our past does not determine our future.  Sometimes, we do have to live with the consequences of our misdeeds—but our worst failings do not define our reality.  We are not our mistakes, our failures, our shortcomings…  We are God’s own children—and God does not hold our sins against us. 

What better new year’s resolution could there be than for you to live as a child of God; to call upon him in every time of need, to receive him in Word and sacrament, and be a part of God’s saving work in the world?  Your ‘Abba, Father’ gives you new life today; to free you from your past; to free you from the unrealistic expectations others place on you and you place and yourself.  There is grace amazing and grace abundant for you to live as God’s child, and experience all of God’s strength, healing, and forgiveness.

The past has no power over you—because sin has no power over you.  You belong to God—and 2012, and all the years God gives you, are your opportunity to be loved and treasured by your ‘Abba, Father.’