What will a new year bring?

(This is my article for our January newsletter at Gibson Memorial UMC)


A New Year

A new year is upon us. 2007 is gone and 2008 has arrived. I’d like to quote that famous theologian, Rev. Ed Hightower (our retired assistant pastor), and say “I don’t know where it went.” But whether 2008 came before you realized it, or it didn’t seem like 2007 would ever end, the question for each of us is the same. What will this year bring?

This year will most likely bring joy and sadness. It will be a year of good and bad fortune, successes and failures, miracles and mistakes. I believe that these are things we can all anticipate seeing every year to some extent. They are a part of life. They will look different from years past and from other people’s lives. But they will come just the same.

We choose how we deal with the good and bad. We choose whether to get puffed up and proud or to act humbly when we succeed. We choose whether we will give up or get back up and dust ourselves off when we fail. We choose whether to hold grudges or to forgive when we’ve been wronged. And most importantly we choose to serve ourselves or to serve God in everything we do.

So what choices will we make this year as individuals and as a church family? Will they show Christ in us? Or will they show that we are no different than what the world teaches us to be? In ending, allow me to quote another famous person. His name was Joshua, and he’s quoted as saying “As for me and my household, we [choose to] serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

May we all choose to serve the Lord in all we do this year. God bless. And Happy New Year!