Surrender the faulty notion that you will perfectly let go of all of these things next year. You are both saved and sinful, and this dichotomy won’t end until Christ makes all things new in the next life.
I’ve discovered that it’s powerful to speak this truth aloud, and I most often do so when having conversations with my two-year-old boy. I tell him, “I love you, but Jesus loves you best.” I want my son to know that I love him more than life. Taking a bullet, a beating, or a bomb for him wouldn’t require a second thought. Even still, I am not perfect. I don’t want him looking to Mama as his example of perfect love.
Rather, I want him to remember that when people, even those closest to him, fail him, Christ won’t. His love doesn’t waver. It’s not tainted by failed resolutions, goals, and ideas. Christ’s love will always be victorious over sin, Satan, hell, destruction, and brokenness.
He can rest in that. Not in me and my weak attempts to mirror this beautiful Love.
As the new year approaches, accept that so long as you live in this skin-and-bones body, you will mess up and miss the mark, sometimes terribly. But grace is already present in those moments, in love with restoring your heart and soul, so God gains the glory.
A Happy New Year
As you reflect on these six things to release in the new year, I pray you rest in the peace of knowing we are renewed each day by a God who loves us fiercely.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)
Related:
7 Resolutions Every Single Christian Should Make This New Year
5 Journal Prompts for Reflecting on This Past Year
How to Reflect on God’s Faithfulness as You Enter a New Year
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