Articles
Another New Year!
ANOTHER NEW YEAR!”
It is Saturday, December 31, 2022, as I am writing this article. In just a few hours the year of 2022 will leave us and the new year of 2023 will begin. Many will stay up until midnight to “watch the ball drop.” I don’t know what it is but there seems to be something magical about the end of one year and the beginning of another. For some people it is so magical that they often make “New Year’s Resolutions.” This is the time to start something new or stop some bad habit. And so, people wait. They wait until the new year to change. They put off doing something they know they should do until the year changes.
What is the big deal about the first day in January? Why is it that “the day” seems to be the difference maker? If there is something that is bad for my health, why should I wait to stop doing it? If there is something that is worth doing and can improve my life, why should I wait for “that day?” If something in your life needs changing, why wait for another day beyond TODAY?
We should be glad that God does not wait for New Year’s Day. The Jews in the Old Testament celebrated the Day of Atonement once every year. They were required to wait a whole year for the elaborate ceremony that the High Priest performed. The sins of the people were placed upon the scapegoat and the goat was sent into the wilderness. Each year this event took place for their sins.
It is no longer that way. A sinner’s sins are removed in baptism. (Acts 2:38, 22:16) According to Hebrews 8:12, they are never to be remembered again. I am thankful that God does not wait until one day a year to forgive. God forgives immediately upon obedience to the Gospel. “The Lord is not slack. (2 Peter 3:9) If God does not wait, why should you?
Is there something that needs to change in your life? Do you need to put your life in order to be pleasing to God? Don’t wait until you get everything worked out. Don’t wait until a more convenient time! Don’t wait for New Year’s Day.
God told Ananias to say to Saul, “Why are you waiting?” God told Paul to tell the Corinthians, “Behold, now is the accepted time.” If something is the right thing to do, then it is right to do it now. With God, every day is a new day. Make TODAY (not some day in the future) THE DAY that you take the necessary steps to get right with God! Written by Larry Schneider
