I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
I am not very aware of how other churches around the world held their services on the 31st night of December, but my church gathers a few hours before midnight, begins with singing and later a sermon to prepare our hearts for the new year. Then as we approach January 1st, just a few minutes before the clock strikes 12, we bow our heads and pray. We pray for forgiveness, thank God for his loving kindness and ask for help throughout the new year.
Church is packed on the 31st , more so than on any other day. People never seen at church make their first, and often only appearance of the year. Teenagers who rarely attend church flood in. Tears can be seen streaming down on many faces. Deep sighing and muffled sobbing are heard. The sight of so many repenting and praying so earnestly then rejoicing in worship is a wonderful sight to cherish. If only this could be the case more often.
If only our prayers could be filled with such genuine emotion, desire and repentance every single day of the year. What makes the 31st so different from the rest of the 364 days. What is it that moves so many to such guilt, contrition and sorrow on this ordinary day? Why can’t churches always be so packed and the congregation always tremble with the sense that God is coming soon?
The Contrition on New Year’s Day
It is a lamentable pity that so many people live however they like for the rest of the year and then come to church thinking that they’ll be able to be put right with God on the last day on the calendar. This is only partly true. Yes, God will forgive you of your sins if you confess (1 John 1:9), but you cannot expect to leave church a renewed person and live the whole year as a new creature if you are not willing to abide by Christ and love God with everything you have.
A saint and a drunkard both may be sincere in asking God for forgiveness, but only one will live by it. Some have honest intentions of living differently in the new year and will even make rash promises and arbitrary pledges to serve God. Sadly, these vows are short-lived after being met with temptations along their journey. So many of these pledges are made on a whim, fuelled with momentary emotion even if it drives people to live for God.
As Jerry Bridges put it “We must not allow our emotions to hold sway over our minds. Rather, we must seek to let the truth of God rule our minds.” Repent at the start of the year, have high hopes for the new year and then fall flat on your face when buffeted by the storms of life. This cycle will continually repeat itself every year unless you submit to God, unless we abide in Christ.
The Futility of New Year Resolutions
I do not deny that new year resolutions allow some people to reflect thoughtfully on the past year and motivate them to set goals for themselves in the upcoming year. However, ask your friend if they have still kept their resolutions after a few months, sometimes even a month into the year, and the answer will almost always be a “No”.
As Christians even if we set attainable goals with the best intentions, if we do not abide in Christ, it will all be another futile attempt, bearing “no fruit”. Jesus tells us that apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5) Our attempts to live better this year will be entirely futile if we do not abide in Christ.
Firstly we need to understand that if we are to abide in Christ, we cannot be like the world. (1 John 2:15-17) This is the primary cause of backsliding, deconstruction and rebellion in teens today. They do not want to be set apart and to live the way God calls them to live. They may be called Christians, but if you put them in a group with the vilest, the most repulsive and impertinent youth, they will fit in as if they were always with them.
Jesus later tells us explicitly that we will be hated, we will be outcasts and we will have a difficult time. This, though it may seem intimidating and discouraging, is what all Christians must go through. Christ went through it Himself and so must we.
If we are to take up our cross each day, (Luke 9:23) we must constantly be pleading to God and imploring Him that we be well-equipped by the Spirit and the Word to withstand the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Then only will we be able to “take the kingdom of heaven by force” (Matthew 11:12). Take heart Christians, for Christ is able to strengthen us during our tribulations, for He has overcome the world and He encourages us to do the same (John 16:33).
The Goal for Us
The foremost goal for Christians every year and every day should be to live like Christ. Christ embodied the true and only way every Christian should live and encompassed every faculty of life. To be like Christ means to love like He did. To suffer like He did. To talk, to think, to overcome like He did. Note that we do not try to be Christ Himself, because we can never achieve such a feat.
It is impossible for any man to come even close to approaching the likeness of Christ who was fully man, fully God, let alone ever emulate Him completely. Nonetheless we can approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us grow in Christlikeness. (Hebrews 4:16).
There is one thing guaranteed this year. One indisputable fact. The world will not be any more peaceful than it is today. There will be more conflicts, more dissensions and more divisions. There will be more deaths, more sorrow and more pain. Social justice will not be achieved, freedom of speech will remain ambiguous and reprobate actions will be encouraged.
The world will be more tolerant of evil and less forbearing with truth. Our emotions will change, our stances will change and even our faith may change. There is only one thing that will not, has not and is never changing, God and God alone.
The same God who delivered the Israelites from Egypt is the same God who delivered us from our bondage to sin. The same God who brought down the towering walls of Jericho that stood in the Israelites’ conquest is the same God who tore the veil that separated man from Himself. The same God who ordered Saul to kill the Amalekites in the Old Testament is the same God who struck down Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament.
It has always been the same God. It will always be the same God. His promises, His faithfulness and His holiness never fail. Let us hold on to that even if we have nothing else to hold on to this year. Let us cling on to this hope even if we have no other hope to cling on to.
Jesus, what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus, Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.Jesus, what a Strength for weakness!
Our Great Savior – J. Wilbur Chapman
Let me hide myself in Him;
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my Strength, my victory wins.
