It’s hard to believe the books are about to close on another year. It seems just last month 2021 was beginning with much promise, hope, and expectation. Hopefully you enjoyed the fulfillment of some of those even if this past year did bring its share of sadness and pain as well.
As we change calendars, it’s the perfect time to do some reflection. What would you classify as your best times in the old year and why? What would you like to accomplish in the New Year? What dreams and goals do you have for the next twelve months?
One temptation that we’re all prone to is that of procrastination. We neglect to start or finish a project or do a good deed or show love today because we believe we’ll have endless opportunities tomorrow and the days after. While we often do have those chances, they aren’t guaranteed. In fact, we aren’t even assured this afternoon, much less next week.
And so we must seize this day. We must take full advantage of the twenty four hours we have now to accomplish whatever we might. Today is the only day we really have and these moments are the only ones we can use. We can’t borrow against tomorrow nor save up unused minutes.
The rich get no more, the poor get no less. The busiest folks somehow seem to always add one more thing to their plate while the slackers never seem to get even their most basic tasks completed.
Imagine if we had to give an account of how we used the time God has given us. Imagine if we had to pass through His checkpoint every night and answer for each minute. While we may not have to do it daily, the Bible indicates that we will have to give an account for our lives. One day each of us will stand before Him and answer for what we did with what we had.
With that sobering truth in mind, it’s good to do daily evaluations. Before drifting off to sleep each night, it’s good to glance over the events of the day and assess each in terms of eternal significance.
First Corinthians 3 indicates that even those whose souls are saved will appear before Christ’s Judgment Seat to be rewarded based on the quality of our works. While it doesn’t affect our eternal destination, it does impact the rewards we receive and the honor we can present to our Savior. Those actions that are temporal in nature will be consumed quickly by fire and pass into nothingness while those that are just and true will survive the flames and come forth as gold.
Sometimes I’ve heard folks say, “Well, as long as I get to heaven, that’s all that matters to me.” As I’ve thought of standing before Jesus who poured out His life and His blood on Calvary’s cross for me, it would be incredibly thoughtless and ungrateful to look in His eyes of sacrificial love and exclaim, “I’ve done nothing to honor you, but at least I’m here!”
Our works don’t earn us salvation. That’s provided solely by the blood of Jesus and our faith in Him. But if we are truly saved, we ought to be so changed and so grateful as to live lives of service for the One who saved us.
Earning an honest living for our families, feeding those who gather around our tables each day, encouraging a coworker, being honest with our boss, all of these are enduring works. Visits and care for aging relatives and neighbors are more of them while mindless television, videogames, and social media will likely disappear before the real flames ever get close.
As we enter 2022, let’s resolve to whatever good we can each day.
New Year’s Blessings, George