A Suggestion for a New Year’s Resolution (That Is Appropriate at Any Time)

As I type these words, we are only a few days from “ringing in” another new year. In my earlier years, I couldn’t understand why anybody would go to bed before midnight on New Year’s Eve. I have since found out that a new year can begin just fine without me being awake to welcome it.

I’ve also learned that making resolutions all too often proves to be futile exercise. I’m sure that most of us mean well, but it seems that our resolve also falters after a few weeks or months.

Since many of us are already thinking about a meaningful resolution, I’d like to suggest one. If we keep it, we may not be any wealthier or healthier. We would certainly be wiser though. This resolution would pay dividends for eternity and not just for this life.  

I must confess that this resolution did not originate with me. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write these words:

…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:13-14)

It is obvious from many of Paul’s writings that he had not totally forgotten about things that were in his past. There were things about his upbringing that he remembered. He also remembered and regretted things that he had done before he became a Christian. He wrote about friends and coworkers from his past as well as those who had badly mistreated him because of his devotion to the Lord.

Paul did not experience some sort of spiritual amnesia once he became a Christian. Neither do we.

Our lives are often enriched by wonderful and warm memories. Sadly, we also remember our shortcomings, those who no longer befriend us, and a host of other things that are not so pleasant.

It seems to me that what Paul was inspired to write about and what would be a great resolution for all of us and at any time is focus. There are things from the year that is quickly coming to an end that I hope I remember as long as I have a memory. There are also a few things that I would like to forget.

Since I cannot relive the good things and cannot undo the unpleasant things, I think that I would be wise to focus on the future. That is especially true of what could be called “the ultimate future.”

In just a few years it will not matter how successful I was (or was not) financially, how well known I was (or was not) socially, what I looked like physically, or a host of other things. The only thing that will matter is how well I stayed focused on Jesus and how determined I was to do His will. It would be wise of me to be found at all times doing what the following verse teaches me to do.

…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith… (Heb. 12:2)