I Resolve

It’s that time of the year again, when the mind turns to making good resolutions for the year to come. Generally I try to make one resolution, which is ‘don’t make resolutions’. Otherwise I think I am just setting myself up for failure. I always start well but the initial enthusiasm doesn’t sustain me and then I feel guilty that I haven’t followed through.

However it is a good idea to reflect and think about those core values that I want to commit to and give evidence of in the next chapter of my life. You never know, that may result in changed behaviour, almost resolution by stealth!

In a letter to a bunch of Hebrew Christians a couple of thousand years ago the writer gave a list of ten behaviours that seem to me to be a pretty good pattern to follow:

·         Love each other

·         Show hospitality to strangers

·         Identify with prisoners, the persecuted and the ill treated

·         Be faithful in your marriage and make it work

·         Let your character be free from the love of money, be content with what you have

·         Remember those people that got you where you are and copy them

·         Don’t get carried away by wacky ideas and strange teaching

·         Keep doing good to others and share what you have with them

·         Obey your leaders and submit to them

·         Pray for those who established you

In the middle of this list there is a statement that seems almost out of context, it is ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever’. It seems the writer was looking back to the first five items on his list which ended with the injunction to keep one’s character free from the love of money and to be content with what you have. This was based on the reminder that God had said in history that he would not desert nor forget them, and that if God is on their side, then what do they need to be afraid of? The Jesus that was faithful then will be faithful now. More money is certainly not the answer.

As he looked to the future the writer seems to be warning that there will be some strange ideas and philosophies and the demand to honour and protect those of proven character will increase. It will be increasingly important to focus on what we know to be true, and of course in doing so we will focus on the same Jesus who proved himself in the past and can be relied on in the future.

As I look at this list I find that in every case there is room for improvement and I can certainly address myself to them. Maybe a strategy or a SMART goal or two, or even a KPI might help to keep me on track. But the reality, for me at least, is that unless the Jesus Christ who is the same today as he was in the past and will be in the future is not the one who guides and motivates me then it is just another set of resolutions that probably won’t get past February.