A new year - a new start?

 

It's good to have times in life to take stock and assess priorities. A landmark birthday when you hit one of the big O's ... an anniversary ... new year.

 

But what do you assess? Your circumstances, relationships, behaviour, habits, bank balance, fitness, exercise regime, waist-line? All are valid but may in the end just be our own efforts to improve ourselves. Or they may be an attempt to make us feel better about ourselves.

 

Where does that leave us as Christians? 

 

At the very core of our faith is God's grace - His undeserved favour and goodness towards us. His love for us and acceptance of us as we are.

 

So does that mean we don't change?

 

No way. God's will for each of us is that our lives increasingly become more like Jesus ... and that involves change. A lot of change in fact!

 

Let's change ... let's be changed ... but let's do it for God and for noone else.

Let's do it in His grace, knowing that I do not earn extra points or merit as a result of any change.

Let's do it in His provision, knowing that 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'

May the end of 2010 see each one of us being more like Jesus than we were at the start.