New Year’s Day brings most people to a point of introspection — reflecting on what we’ve learned, how we’ve disappointed ourselves or others, the relationships we’ve lost or gained, and all sorts of resolutions for change. Yet, like the earth’s yearly orbit, many of us find ourselves back at the same point with very little true change, rehearsing the same thoughts and unfulfilled promises. Without truly gaining the Lord in our daily walk, we will find we’ve wasted another year of the life He has granted us.
The focal point of a believer’s life is Christ. As Colossians 2:6 reminds us, “Therefore you have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, walk in Him.” This verse is both a charge and an encouragement, urging us to live each day rooted in the One we have received. To walk in Him means to make Him our center — seeking His will, trusting His guidance, and expressing His life in all that we do. Christ isn’t just the beginning of our journey, but the very path we walk — He is shaping every step we take. If our daily living is in this nature, then the organic result is that His transformation work can be realized in us, making us useful material for building the body of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul exemplifies a believer’s life devoted to serving the ministry of Christ: “For I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified” (2:2). Paul reminds us that we are not performing to impress others with our intelligence or to make ourselves the center. His unwavering determination to speak only of the all-inclusive Christ shows us the simplicity and purity of a life wholly centered on Him, allowing Christ alone to be our subject, content, and expression.
This year, may we determine to have a different resolution. Luke 9:62 says, “But Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand on the plow and looks behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” May we awaken each day full of His life and vitality, having a fresh perspective, an instant and specific word that has been spoken to us as spirit and life from the Lord (John 6:63). May we forget the things which are behind and stretch forward to the things which are before us, pursuing toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called us upward (Phil. 3:14). May we be matured and therefore walk by the same rule, these simple principles which we have attained (v. 16). May the Lord find us pleasing to Him each day, a fruitful branch, a gateway for many seekers to find Jesus Christ, the glorious One. May we determine to build His church.
— CO