Perhaps at no other time are we universally more aware of the prospect of change than at the beginning of a new year. “Out with the old, in with the new” becomes our mantra as we write resolutions, begin diets and exercise routines, and promise ourselves that this year we will accomplish all we have neglected in new years past. We even personalize the day with the image of a newborn. Things are going to be different!
But the writer of Ecclesiastes gives us a more cyclical view of life. In words that have been quoted, sung, and placed on cards and t-shirts, we are reminded that to everything, there is a season (Ecclesiastes 3) – sad and happy, constructive and destructive, planting and harvest, success and failure, health and illness, new life and loss. And the implication is that we have no real warning of which door may open. We have a sense of eternity but a limited vision to comprehend it. One commentary explained that God has given man reasoning power but He has not given him enough to unravel all mysteries. We can never solve all the seeming paradoxes of life. (Wycliffe)
Solomon, in his wisdom, does not leave us with a sense of helplessness. He writes “Everything is beautiful,” not necessarily in the sense of physical beauty, but in the concept of orderliness. God is in control. While sometimes it may seem that there is no control – when natural disasters overwhelm us, pandemics strike, wickedness frightens us, and we wonder where is peace and assurance – God still reigns all-powerful, all-knowing and always present. The temporal is just that, temporary.
We read in John’s account of the Last Supper that Jesus was preparing His disciples for the changes that were to come. He painted a fearful picture, understandably frightening to the men who had assumed that their future was to be sitting on the right and left of an earthly king and Messiah. But Jesus also gave them words of encouragement - words of power and strength…and peace. “I have overcome the world.” And we share in this promise. No matter what the world throws at us, we have the assurance that the victory has already been accomplished.
Our focus then becomes belief. ”Whosever believes on Me will not perish.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” You believe in God, believe also in Me.” Belief – the cognizant acceptance of God’s love as seen in the resurrection of the Son. That choice eliminates the imbalance of life and gives us a sense of wholeness that can only come from the Creator. But belief must lead to a hunger for understanding, for understanding leads to faith and faith to commitment. It is then that we can face the changes of life with courage and anticipation. We rely on the assurance that nothing - in heaven or on earth – can separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus. And it is with this promise we embrace the New Year.
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