Dear Friends,
With another year past and a new one stretching before us it seems a natural time to take stock of our lives. What went well over the last year? What was disappointing? Where would we like to be in another year’s time? What would we especially like to do and achieve in the coming year?
With such thoughts in our minds we perhaps begin to form our New Year resolutions. I wonder what yours might be? To go on a diet; exercise more; take up a new hobby; seek a new job or a new house; learn a new language? Perhaps you’ve already failed to keep your New Year resolution and are already feeling a bit of a failure.
So many of these promises we make to ourselves are about improving ourselves – and there’s nothing wrong with that – but in a culture that drives us to constantly succeed and achieve (most of the adverts on TV encourage us to be thinner, faster, wealthier, fitter, more powerful, more intelligent etc etc..) we can easily feel that we have fallen short in some way – that we have failed and so feel guilty and perhaps even slightly useless.
This is nothing new – the bedridden Ignatius of Loyola, when recovering from a serious battle wound in the 16th century, noticed that if he read stories about the adventures of great knights was left feeling dejected and depressed, whereas when he read the gospel accounts of Jesus was left feeling encouraged and hopeful. This experience led to his conversion, ordination, formation of the order of the Jesuits and the writing of the Ignatian Exercises (a meditative and transformative way of reading scripture).
Praying with scripture can remind us, that in a culture that values people primarily for what they’ve got and what they can do, we believe in a God who loves us simply for who we are – his children. Here is a reminder of some of the things God has to say about each of us;
‘I made you in my own image and likeness, and when I made you, I saw that you are good.’ (Gen. 1:27,31)
‘I am silently planning for you in love.’ (Zeph 3:17)
‘Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are mine.’ (Isa. 43:1)
‘I, Christ, loved you, and sacrificed myself for your sake.’ (Gal. 2:20)
As we make, and perhaps break, our New Year resolution let’s not be too hard on ourselves. Remember God loves you as you are, and that perhaps the best resolution you can make is to begin to love yourself too, rather than listen to the voices of a culture that constantly shouts, ‘Could do better.’
Of course, we also need to remember that God loves us as we are, but he loves us too much to leave us as we are!
I wish you all God’s blessings for 2025.
Yours in Christ, Simon