The time has come again, and a new 2022 Calendar has been pinned to the wall.
Traditionally a new year brings new resolutions. For some, it will be getting fitter and living a healthier lifestyle. For others, it might be a better work-life balance, or for the few, it is simply to enjoy life. If you are like me, you will start well, but after several weeks the routine changes, a day is missed and soon it all just tapers off. We have all been there and known the failure of a resolution.
You see, when it comes to personal improvement, I am not the person to ask! However, when it comes to the subject of new life, I can tell you that the Bible promises through a man called Jesus to “give life and give it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
Over the Christmas period we have sung carols, read cards and exchanged gifts, and have been reminded about a baby born in Bethlehem. However, that baby wasn’t just another baby, we are told "unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). The Lord Jesus came to be the “Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:14). As the Saviour of the world, the Lord Jesus is life, “in him was life and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).
This leads me to two questions,
1. Why a Saviour?
2. How do I get New Life?
Why a Saviour?
In Romans chapter 3 verse 23 it says, “all have sinned and fallen short of the standard of God”. As a result of our sin (our wrongdoing), we are far away from God, and “sin, when it is finished, brings forth death” (James 1:15). It would be sad if that’s where it ended, but the Bible declares “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). God demonstrated his love to us, for when we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
How do I get New Life?
It is possible to use many words and illustrations to answer this question, however, it is as simple as the Bible says, "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life" (1 John 5:12). "He who hears My Word and believes on Him who sent Me has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24).
New life or everlasting life is free and available to all who trust on the Lord Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, that he was buried, and he rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
With new life in Christ, it is not a ‘resolution’ that we must strive to keep, because the Lord Jesus says, “I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and not anyone shall pluck them out of My hand" (John 10:28).
We all have tried turning over a new leaf, attempting to make ourselves better but sadly we fail, we can do nothing to make ourselves right with God, Jesus Christ is the only hope and answer to the emptiness in life.
Entering 2022, reach out in faith and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Saviour. The Bible says "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).