1/29/13

HAPPY NEW YEAR by Gary Womack


HAPPY NEW YEAR

The beginning of another year is met with anticipation of new beginnings and with the idea of turning another page in our lives. All of this only lends itself to the realization of the fact that we are, within the confines of this physical world, but finite beings. We are inseparably connected to the measure of our existence by time. Unlike God, who is "...even from everlasting to everlasting..." (Psm. 90:2), the days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years..." (vs. 10) and "we finish our years like a sigh." (vs. 9)
Time is a relative thing. For little children, time passes by agonizingly slow. This is seen in a child's anticipation of having another birthday. How many times do they ask how long it will be until their next birthday? Or how many times have we heard a child say, " I can't wait till I'm -- years old?" But as we become advanced in years our birthdays seem to come more swiftly and we are often heard to say, "It doesn't seem like it's been a year."
Once again, we are to be reminded that our perspective of time is so limited compared to that of our Creator, that the psalmist has said of Him that "...a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night." On the other hand, Job expresses our existence upon this earth as being "...swifter than a weaver's shuttle" (Job 7:6) To those of Job's day, this was a fitting analogy of how quickly our days pass. As the weaver would pull the thread into the weaving machine from the "shuttle" upon which the thread was wound, the shuttle would spin at a very rapid pace - each rotation being compared to each passing day in our lives. What a fitting illustration!
In our modern age of technology and scientific discovery, we are no less at a loss to express time in its proper perspective to the eternal nature of God. However, one thing that we have learned about time is that its measurement is based upon a highly sophisticated and extremely accurate standard. Due to advances in astronomical studies, we are able to determine the measure of a year as being 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 9.54 seconds in length. That's a far cry from the ancient sundial!
How sad it is that many of those, whose abilities in science have been able to render the measurement of time in such accurate terms, have failed to acknowledge the God of heaven who gave us such an accurate time piece as this universe. Such accuracy of motion that allows the rotation of the earth's 585 million mile journey around the sun to be measured down to the one hundredth of a second, can only be attributed to intelligent design and not by accident or coincidence. Truly, "the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork." (Psm. 19:1) Even time is a part of His handiwork. So, as the world watches while "the ball drops" at Times Square in New York City, and another year passes, God's hand is in it all.
While we put a great deal of emphasis on the beginning of a new year and how dependent we are on the measuring of it to the events of our lives, we must not lose sight of the fact that time is a creation of God intended for our benefit. In the midst of God's eternal existence, the longevity of the universe and His sustaining of it is but a mere blip. Time is the measure of that brief period between the bookends of human existence amid the endlessness of eternity. The eternal God of heaven has no need for time, as the psalmist clearly points out; "For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night." (Psm. 90:4) Or as Peter expressed it, "...with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Pet. 3:8) Therefore, it was for man's benefit that God gave us a means of measuring time.
The omnipotent God, the Creator of this universe, on the fourth day of creation said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years." (Gen. 1:14) No Swiss movement ever matched God's celestial time piece. We ought to be aware of this - even as we think about the passing of another year.
So, as we greet one another with those words that wish for a "happy new year", let's be aware that time is fleeting and the only control we have of it is how we use it. This was the emphasis behind the words of Paul as he wrote, "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (Eph. 5:15-17) Anyone who feels that new year resolutions are in order would do well to resolve to "understand what the will of the Lord is." Each of us ought to "be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Tim. 2:15) In this way we will make the best use of God's time that He has loaned to us, for this is how we "buy back" (redeem) the time that we are allotted.
The facing of a new year ought to be a clarion call for many to "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." (Eph. 5:14) Many in this world are letting time pass them by with little or no thought of the fact that time is running out and an accounting of how we used it is somewhere upon the horizon immediately this side of eternity. To ignore the coming of that day is to be as guilty as those whom Amos the prophet warned by saying, "Woe to you who put far off the day of doom..." (Amos 6:3) Rather, they ought to "...consider that the longsuffering (patience) of our Lord is salvation..." (2 Pet. 3:15) and that the reason any of us are still here is because He is patiently waiting - allowing time to repent for those who will do so.
Likewise, those who are "in Christ" ought also to be conscious of the fact that our work is still before us and time is of the essence. It is not time to be sleeping through our responsibilities, for "...now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed." (Rom. 13:11)
If anyone is to realize a happy new year, it will be found only on the terms of God's grace and by the pattern of His wisdom. Jesus' sermon on the mount is a good place to begin. A reading of Mt. 5-7 and the application of it will insure that your year will be a happy one. - Gary V. Womack - January 2006