[Faith-talk] FW: [masterslist] If Only

Fri Dec 30 20:26:41 UTC 2011

Original Message: 
From: "Dean Masters" <dwmasters15 at gmail.com>
To: "masters list" <masterslist at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [masterslist] If Only
Date: 
Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:07:51 -0500

If Only
by Sarah Jennings, Crosswalk.com Family Editor

He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."
Revelation 21:5

I've never known anyone that claimed New Year's was their favorite
holiday. 
The media shows flashy images of jubilant crowds forgetting their cares
as 
they
count down until midnight. After the ball drops, lovers kiss, friends 
embrace, and the partying continues into the wee hours.

In various real-life conversations, the consensus seems to be: New Year's

isn't quite as fun as the TV makes it look. Many note the anti-climactic 
nature
of this holiday, and have foregone the party scene for quieter evenings
that 
may or may not last until midnight.

I think New Year's brings so many mixed emotions because New Year's (and 
birthdays) remind us that we are creatures limited to time. With the
passage 
of
time we not only sense our mortality, but most of us have accumulated 
personal losses or regrets alongside our precious memories. And time's 
indifferent,
methodical nature does not allow us to go back and have a redo.

In a conversation last winter, a friend shared a perspective on time and 
eternity that really changed my approach to New Year's. A wise pastor once

shared
with her, "We struggle with time because ultimately our souls weren't
meant 
for time. Our souls were meant for eternity, in relationship with an
Eternal
God."

Although I can't even begin to wrap my mind around the logistics of
eternity 
(what is it like to have no beginning and no end?), my friend's comment 
gives
me hope. Our linear existence is not "it." This, of course, doesn't mean
we 
can approach time in a careless manner. Certainly God, the Creator of
time,
cares how we spend it. But our discomfort with the passage of another
year 
points to a God who is bigger than the limitations of time and who loves
us
enough to prepare us for a day when we will no longer be bound to its 
limitations either.

But what of the regrets, the wrongs done, and the losses? These things
seem 
set in stone, and like real stones they often weigh on us in our attempts
to
make fresh starts.

In the book of Revelation, we see that God, from His throne, continually 
makes all things new (21: 5). Once again, it's kind of hard to wrap your 
mind around
a God who is bigger than time, Who can bring good out of a past we no
longer 
have access to. But our pasts and all the failings and imperfections 
contained
in them don't faze a God whose goodness knows no bounds. Although we are 
limited, God's grace is not.

When I look at it this way, I have to ask myself: "Why would I, a
creature 
powerless to change the past, want to hold on so tightly to it? Why not
give
it to the One who can actually do something about it?!"

Can you hand your past over to the Eternal One in the coming year? Are
you 
willing to surrender your present and your future as well? I know this 
without
a doubt - surrendering your life to God is something you'll never regret.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Enjoy a peaceful New Year's Eve knowing the 
future is in God's Hands.

Further Reading

Psalm 96: 1-2
2 Corinthians 5: 17
Face the New Year Without Fear,
by Adrian Rogers

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Dean Masters, owner of the Masters List

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