Vol. XL January 3, 2008 No. 1
AS WE BEGIN
by Tom McLemore
I always
feel some excitement when I contemplate the fact that a new year has come. I think of a new year as an opportunity to make
a fresh start, to make another go of it, to honestly assess the past year with
its successes and failures, and to dream of making some strides. I typically like to write about it, and so,
a few thoughts as we begin this new year.
As I contemplate the new year, I
am drawn to emphasize the need to try to keep the focus on Christ. After all, we remember how he described
himself (emphasis supplied): “...I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning
and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of
the water of life....I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the
beginning and the end” (Revelation 21:6;
22:13). In Colossians 1:18, Paul
wrote of Christ: “He is the head of the
body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so
that he might come to have first place in everything.”
While the earth had a historical beginning, the real, true
beginning is Christ, and all that ultimately matters to Christians begins with
him. The Christ event and the glory that
followed is rightly called “the beginning” by Jesus and his apostles (e.g.,
John 15:27; 16:4; Acts 11:15; 1 John 1:1; 2:7, 24; 2 John 5:6). So then, in practical terms, what could it
mean for him who is “the beginning” to be our focus as we begin (and, it is
hoped, to be kept as focus throughout) the year?
Let’s renew our faith in Christ and determine to commit
ourselves more deeply to him, as we begin. Examine the claims and the evidence and keep
them ever before your eyes. If honestly
considered and weighed, they can have only one effect–belief in Christ’s being
the son of God. And his being the son of
God, let us intentionally trust him, entrust our lives
to him, and act upon that trust.
Let us renew our fervor for Christ’s church, and
determine to be more devoted to its worship, fellowship, and work, as we
begin. While our individual
relationship with Christ is central, let us remember that with it comes a
relationship with all who are related to Christ, as well as a responsibility. We are members of Christ, and therefore,
members of one another. To love,
cherish, and nurture our brethren, with whom we are one in Christ Jesus, is to
love Christ and ourselves.
Let us seek to let our family life be molded and shaped
by the ways of Christ, as we begin. Just as God is the Father of whom every family
in heaven and earth is named, Christ’s relationship with the church is the
epitome of marriage. As we consider God
the Father, Christ the Son, and Christ the head of his bride, the church, we
have before us the essence of the family relationship as it is meant to
be. Let our families manifest the love,
sacrifice, forgiveness, and devotion which are everywhere portrayed in the
revelation of God and Christ in the gospel.
Let us determine to give throughout this year as the
Lord shall prosper us,
as we begin.
Both Christ and God may be described
best in terms of their giving.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone
who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). Let us love and prove our love by deeds, at
every opportunity giving ourselves and that with which the Lord has blessed us.
Let us pray and labor for the triumph of the gospel of
Christ in our land and in the world, as we begin. This year, if the Lord’s coming does not
intervene, will feature a national election.
Our lives will be affected significantly by the outcome. There are many other factors in this complex
society and world which will have far reaching effects. We may center our hopes for a brighter future
in humans and human achievement. Yet,
let us never forget that the only way for the world to become all that it can
be is for more people to come to know and obey the Creator and his Christ. Only in this manner can Christ’s prayer “Thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven” be fulfilled. “The harvest is plentiful,
but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37, 38). Let us answer the call with “Here am I; send
me.”
Christ is the beginning (and the end and everything in
between) of all matters (and all that matters) in the coming year. I hope and pray that all of us, having begun
to consider this great truth, will be thinking of what it means to each of us
in particular.
May Christ have first place and
receive his due reverence from all of us.
May every decision begin with Christ and end with his desire
fulfilled. May every task begin with the
power that Christ supplies and end with his approval. And, having come to the end of another year
in twelve months, the Lord willing, may each be that much closer to the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ as the result of considering these
things...as we begin.
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