Like probably every other blogger in the world, this week my post is about New Year’s resolutions. My post will differ from most, however, in that I’ll be talking about spiritual resolutions.

Like so many people, I make many resolutions and fail at keeping most of them. The few I have kept haven’t been particularly life-altering. I’ve fallen short of keeping the classic Christian’s resolution to read the entire Bible in one year. That one becomes hard to keep when you miss a couple of days and are faced with the unenviable task of needing to read 15 chapters of Leviticus to get back on pace.

With New Year’s Day approaching, I have been thinking about spiritual resolutions. When I do counseling with couples, one of the things I try to do is bring them closer together. A lot of dysfunctional couples don’t have the emotional connection that they used to. A number of factors that are unique to each couple’s individual relationship can contribute, but two things that are almost always present are that they don’t spend much time together, quality time at least, and they don’t communicate well, or often. Although it’s often a little more complicated than that, our relationships with others, whether spousal or otherwise, are often improved when we spend time with that person and take the time to talk with them.

Is our relationship with God any different? Of course it’s not exactly the same as a human relationship, but all too often I find myself going to God more when I need something rather than to give thanks for all that he has already blessed me with. I fear that if I treated a human friend the way I treat God sometimes, that person would have given up being my friend long ago!

By this point you may have guessed that a resolution I hope to keep this year is improving my relationship with God. What I like about this resolution is that it is unlike other resolutions where success or failure is easily measurable (i.e., lose 20 pounds, run a marathon, etc.). With this resolution, even if one misses a day or two by being neglectful in setting aside time to pray, study scripture, and be still and listen for God, they haven’t “failed.” The next day they can still pursue God and be closer to Him. It’s not one of those goals that can be completed, which in a way is annoying for people like me who like to check things off a list. But maybe that’s a good thing.

We will always fall short of our attempt to be fully, 100 percent committed to God this side of heaven. This will prevent us from becoming stagnant in our walk and will force us to continue to seek Him. In modern parlance, you may have heard the term “lifestyle change,” as opposed to “diet” – the idea being that a lifestyle change is more permanent. I think that’s the best way to look at a “resolution” like the one I have. Weight loss and other resolutions are great, but maybe we should all focus on making at least one spiritual resolution that invests not in our earthly lives here, but in our relationship with the eternal God.

Yours in Christ,
Jarvis

You can start the New Year off right – keep your “spiritual resolution” by joining us on New Year’s Eve at 7:00pm for worship – Pastor Doug brings the message “The End?”