Do you ever make New Years’ resolutions? Those vows that motivated people make at the beginning of the year when they promise that they’ll eat healthier, read more books, or be kinder to their families. I know I make them, sometimes in my head, sometimes on paper.
But I’m not alone in saying that these resolutions don’t last very long. Sure, it may keep us productive throughout January, but in the end, they tend to fall through. So why do we even make these resolutions if we can’t keep them perfectly?
It’s because we’re human. We strive to reach perfection, but we’ll never get there. It leaves us in a state of constant self-improvement. But God doesn’t make resolutions. “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4). He has no need for self-improvement because he cannot improve upon himself. He is the very definition of perfection. But don’t think that self-improvement is a bad thing! In fact, we’re commanded to self-perfection in Matthew 5:48– “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” That’s a high bar for Jesus to set. If we can never be perfect, then why would Jesus ask this of us?
Jesus knows that we are not perfect and that no matter how much we strive, we are not going to be. He knows this because it’s the very reason that he came to earth–to save us because we could not save ourselves. Jesus wants us to strive for that perfection. He knows that until he himself comes back to perfect us, we are not going to be fully like our Father. But he wants us to realize that our end goal is perfection anyway because striving to be like God is how we can best serve him. If he himself is fully perfect, who else could possibly be our best role model?
The new year is a time of reflection, then, upon who we are and how we can improve ourselves. It’s a time to think about how we can change over the coming year for the better and how we have changed over the past year. Change can be hard. Looking back upon 2022, so much has changed, both in the world and in our personal lives. The things around us that shift can also make us change–whether for better or worse. We are driven by our circumstances; we were designed to change.
But unlike us shifty, flighty humans, our God is unchanging. Even as we might drop our resolutions partway through the year, God does no such thing. His plans, which he’s held since before time began, are not going to be abandoned on a whim or simply forgotten about. No, God stays the same always. Therefore, he is always faithful. This brings us back to Deuteronomy 32:4– “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” Those words were written thousands of years ago, and yet they ring true today because our God is still the same.
Friends, this means that God is always faithful. He was faithful to Moses at the Red Sea and in the wilderness. Moses, the same man who wrote those words so long ago. He was faithful to his people after Moses died; to David, to Esther, and to Daniel. He was faithful when he sent his son, Jesus. And he is faithful still.
As we enter 2023, we face a year of uncertainty, just as we have in the years past. A new year brings excitement, worry, and hope. But look back over what God has done for you and remind yourself of every year that he’s been faithful. Strive towards his perfection, for he is the only thing that will remain constant. From year to year, God’s truth is what remains.
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