We all know nothing really changes from December 31 to January 1. Our bodies do not suddenly become more capable of losing weight nor do we experience a sudden surge in self-control simply because we made it all the way around the sun again. There is absolutely nothing about one year giving way to another that in any way suggests our personal health will improve, societal well-being will rise, or people will generally behave any better.
We know that – but it doesn’t stop us from hoping. We long for the new year to bring new opportunity – or, at the very least, to leave behind the most difficult parts of the prior year. There’s something about a fresh start, a blank slate, and a new beginning that just resonates with us. The idea that we have a full 365 days to make the most of can be so exciting.
For some of us. Others of us have grown decidedly more cynical. Too many years have passed without much changing. To us, it is just another day. We will write the wrong year on our checks for a few weeks but nothing more. Yet, the reason so many of our resolutions don’t survive January is because we come at it from the wrong angle. We expect a change in the calendar to change us – but it really should be the other way around.
Take ancient Israel, for example. The Passover marked the tenth and final plague on Egypt and the moment Israel went from being slaves to being free. Yet, they didn’t become free because the calendar changed: the calendar changed because they became free. “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ‘This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you’” (Ex. 12:1-2 ESV). What made the difference for Israel wasn’t the start of a new year but the powerful working of God.
We see that in how we count this new year. It is 2023 A.D. – anno Domini, Latin for “in the year of our Lord.” Believers and unbelievers alike will mark time based on the years since Jesus Christ came into the world. He is the ultimate demonstration of the immeasurable greatness of God’s power. Jesus changed everything.
So, there is hope for this new year. Not because of the date on the calendar but what that date represents: the great power of God at work in this world in the person of Jesus Christ. Because of Him, this year can be different. There can be growth, change, and joy in the days ahead beyond anything we might ask or imagine – if we allow His power to be at work within us.
Together, we are learning from Jesus how to live more abundantly and full of God’s love every day. Learn more at https://www.georgetownchurchofchrist.com/.