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