A QUESTION OF FAITH
With William Lyon of Living Rock Church
I wonder how many of us are still going strong with the New Year’s resolutions and promises we made to ourselves only a couple of weeks ago at the start of this year.
Some of us will be strong willed enough to still be going for that run three times a week, to still be avoiding the fizzy drinks and to still be trying something new each day. Some of us will have given up on day three, day two, or even day one - but our intentions will have been good and maybe it’s the thought that counts and to be honest it’s just too hard!
Lots of us find that promises and resolutions can be really difficult to keep. Our motivation can ebb away and our self determination can not be quite as strong as we perhaps thought it was.
To make matters worse, it can be all too easy to compare ourselves with others; seeing them succeed where we’ve failed and making great steps forward while we seem to be frustratingly stationary, leading us to think ‘what’s the point’?
When you consider all the factors stacking up against keeping promises and holding to resolutions, it seems that it would be incredibly valuable to find a person who faithfully and unwaveringly keeps their word; One who makes a promise without others saying ‘here we go again’ or ‘we’ll see how long that lasts’.
There is a person like this who we read about in a very familiar verse in chapter three of John’s gospel. Verse sixteen states that God loved the world so much that He gave His only son, so that whoever believes in Him will not die but have eternal life. Essentially, God made a promise (call it a resolution if you like) that He would make it so that people would not have to die alone and in separation from God. He made a promise that He would give us His son and that by believing in and following Him we can live forever in relationship and unity with God. That’s quite a promise!
The great thing is that, unlike those of us who might feel the strain of a resolution, feel the motivation falling away, lack the motivation to keep the promise and eventually give up, God places immense value on keeping His word and isn’t going to change His mind or give up or think ‘what’s the point’!
His promises are certain and motivated by an unwavering, undying love for me and for you!