It’s the new year! I pray that everyone enjoyed the kids being home from school, a lot of over-eating, and a time of reflection on the true reason we celebrate. Like most, I’m thankful for the kids going back to school and getting back to a “normal” schedule. Anyone out there feel the same way? This is also the time of year that is seen as a time of hope, of new beginnings, and shedding the old.
I am definitely ready for hope, new beginnings and a good dusting off. Perhaps it’s the loss of innocence – witnessing a childhood strength struggling to hold on in weakness and finally letting go, the holidays with family nearby but not together, and having some significant “last time” family moments with our eldest daughter (graduating and leaving home). Toss in the seemingly eternal darkness that Alaska brings at this time of year and there’s sure to be a bit of a struggle in keeping a positive outlook. But… winter solstice has come and gone, so we’re on the other side. Every day that passes till the end of June, we’ll be adding a bit of sunlight to our day.
While our daily dose of sunlight increasing is spectacular, I’ve come to realize that when I rely so heavily on a fallen world to keep me positive, my positivity will always be fleeting and at risk of destruction.
“I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I Corinthians 15:50-58 (NIV)
Wow… There’s a lot there to unpack. Not all today, but take some time to read it, reread it, and roll it around. What exactly is God trying to tell us with this passage? The big one that jumps out at me is that we didn’t earn the victory, but that it was given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. We live in a fallen world – there’s nothing in this world that can provide us “imperishable” or “immortal.” And we can never bring it to the table by our own actions.
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6 (NIV) Anything I do or keep from doing will never tip the scales of righteousness. My righteous acts are like filthy rags. “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6 (NIV) If my acts of service to God are not done with the right heart, they’re like filthy rags to God – they shrivel me up like a leaf and I’m able to be blown away.
Every single day we wake to the opportunity to choose how we will be. Will we allow the perishable world to suffocate us? Or will we choose joy – embracing the imperishable, royal garments that Jesus paid dearly for? I’m not saying that grief is wrong; even Jesus wept over the death of his friend, Lazarus (John 11:35). Jesus wrestled with the torment of His crucifixion to come while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 17). I grieve that which I’ve lost, cherished people and moments that I’ll never have again. And I wrestle with the burden of future loss at not having our eldest daughter at home every day.
But I choose joy. I choose the imperishable joy that Jesus paid for. Matthew 26:38-42 describes Jesus expressing that His soul was so overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, and He asked twice that God give the responsibility of suffering the crucifixion to someone else. Jesus was flawless, perfect, and always did the right thing… and He, too, had to navigate sorrow and grief.
I’ll wrap this up with this final thought: Notice that in John 17, Jesus prayed for Himself, He prayed for His disciples, and He prayed for all believers – that’s you and me. Jesus, as He sought comfort from God, knowing He was to face being betrayed, arrested, ridiculed, beaten to the point of not even looking human, and hung on a cross. He was despised so that we could be esteemed; He took on Himself our weaknesses so that we could have His strength; He took our illnesses so that we could have His health; He took our poverty and replaced it with His riches; He took our death so that we could have His life… and He took our sorrows so that we could have His joy.
This is the goodness of God. Let’s choose joy… Let’s choose Jesus.