It’s a new year. We make plans, sometimes resolutions, pray for world peace and look forward to an even better year than the last. But we are still sinners and rubbish will continue to beset our lives until the day that Jesus calls us home.
The important thing, the only thing that matters, is that Jesus died for all of us, the blind and the broken. We are the ones He came to free from sin and sin’s effects so that we can have a blest life with Him from today and for eternity.
“That (fact) is a far bigger deal than how our mutual funds are doing, or who is leading the nation we live in, or global warming, or lost jobs, or diseases that we may contract, or struggling marriages. No matter what happens economically, or politically, or in our jobs, health, or relationships, in the days ahead, the most fundamental reality of our existence stands – unchanged, unmoved, gloriously open, inviting nothing more than a ‘yes’. For Jesus, deserving a ‘yes’, received a ‘no’, so that we, deserving a ‘no’, can receive a ‘yes’.”[1]
What would you want from Jesus this year?
In Mark 8 Jesus asked blind Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus knew he deserved nothing but he received a ‘yes’ from Jesus.
The 2 sons of Zebedee were asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” They replied that they wanted glory –the privilege of sitting on either side of Jesus when He came in His glory. They thought they deserved honour but they received a ‘no” from Jesus.
When Jesus asked His Father this same question, He was told to lay down His life.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45).
So I ask again: What do we want from Jesus this year?
If like Bartimaeus, we admit that we are blind sinners and cling to Jesus that in His mercy He heals us, His mercy and grace will flood over us.
We can choose to lose our sinful life and follow Jesus or we can choose to save our own life and seek glory and honour. 2024 offers you the opportunity to make a choice.
All quotes are from the NLT.
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[1] Ortlund, Dane, Surprised by Jesus, 2021, Crossway, UK, p104.
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