Research shows that 44% of American adults made some sort of New Years Resolution in hopes of bringing about change in their life. I am apart of that 44%. The same research suggests that only 8% of those who make resolutions will actually accomplish these resolutions. I am not apart of that 8%...for the most part. Some of the goals I've set for this year I am struggling with and others I have already waved the flag of defeat. I don't think many would argue these numbers. We all have experienced the desire for change only to find our motivations waning months, weeks, even days later.
There is a hopeful allure about the start of a new year. The time is ripe for change, the turning of the calendar signifies the end of one thing and the beginning of something new. And so, in the spirit of that something new, we seize the opportunity to bring about change in our lives. We envision ourselves being different, "better", or at least being closer to who we think we should be. The majority of these resolutions for change revolve around losing weight, getting organized, finally getting our finances in order, staying fit and healthy, quitting bad habits, the list goes on and on.
But there is a hidden spirituality all of this. Our connection to the newness of the seasons and our desire for change reminds us that things are not the way they should be. It proves that we are in tune with the brokenness in ourselves and in the world around us. Something is out of sync, out of rhythm. Something is broken and needs to be remedied.
That pull we experience toward resolutions, toward change, toward new things, is the divine spark in all of us pointing toward creation the way it was always intended to be. It is the divine spark reminding us that we were created for more. Deep down we all know we are not who we are supposed to be. The desire for change in us, is the working of God in our lives, whispering, "I am making all things new." It is God is pulling us forward, renewing us in his grand plan of the "restoration of all things."
But here is where we all go wrong. We sense this divine pull toward change and we medicate ourselves with surface level issues, lose weight, get organized, be financially secure, etc. We look at outward-in transformation, believing that it will bring about the needed change in our lives to be who we think we need to be. We focus on our ability, our strength, our act of renewal to change things that are beyond our control. We focus on things we think we can accomplish and we resolve to try harder than ever to bring about this change. But this motivation will fade, it will disappear. Listen to the words of Paul in 2nd Corinthians 4:16, "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." Paul was focused on partnering with God in bringing about restoration through the Gospel. And day by day, he felt the outward struggle of the brokenness in the world. He knew outward change was hollow, that what was desperately need was the work of Christ to renew the world. Christ is after something deeper, he is after lasting inward change that will pour out into our outward experience. Until our inner self is renewed our hope is lost.
Later in the next chapter of 2nd Corinthians Paul says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." The spark in all of us to be made new, to be more in line with who we were created to be is only satisfied in Christ's work of restoration. The deep irony is this, the newness we all desperately need and desire will only be brought forth through our realization that we cannot do it, but need to be renewed by something greater.
God is at work making "all things new." He is restoring, redeeming, reconciling. He is healing, creating, resurrecting. All around us this new life is bursting forth. May our resolutions tap into this movement of God, may we be made new because God is at work. May we push deeper into the divine spark in us to be made new.
So our resolutions must start in prayer rather than plans. They must begin by us pursuing God's change. It begins with reminding ourselves, day by day, that God is the one at work renewing all things. That God is the one bringing about new life in the midst of our brokenness. That only when we are "in Christ" are we new creations. This is our only hope for lasting resolutions.