The new year has begun. Get used to writing 2018 on your checks (if you still use those) or anyplace that requires today’s date. For many of us, we are pissed at 2017. 2017 didn’t treat us well and may have only seemed to be full of disappointment, hurt, and loss. But 2018 feels like a new start, with new possibilities and second chances. It’s time to make room for new… again.
“Again,” because didn’t 2017 promise us that things were going to be better? We may have even promised ourselves that we were going to eat better, drink more water, exercise, read more books, and generally self-improve.
Now we find ourselves a year removed from our last “reset.” How many of these have we been through? Another year, another marker for change, but not much has.
You may be experiencing resolution fatigue, so why even make them. Why try and change?
A new year is one of the signs you’ve been waiting for to make a turn. Out with old, in with the new. It’s like a mile marker on a highway. A new year is a reminder of where you are in life and how far you’ve traveled. A new year can help you to find your bearings. That’s why we wait for them.
Yeah, but who am I kidding? Honestly, if you’re like me it kind of snuck up on you. It took a year for 2018 to get here but none-the-less it got here in flash and you’ve already missed out on THE moment. You missed out on the sign, the mile marker.
That’s how life is, you didn’t prepare for many of the crummy things that happened in 2017 and now you didn’t plan for 2018, you didn’t make any goals.
Let me share something with you. You don’t need a day on the calendar to begin experiencing life change. It’s January 2nd and you still haven’t missed your mark.
You can still get prepped. You can still get ready. Get on your mark because even if you didn’t start yesterday you can still start suddenly!
This is what I love about the Gospel according to Mark. He starts suddenly and his mile markers are not all positive.
Here is how the gospel of Mark begins, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God…”
That’s it, no genealogy or visits from the angel Gabriel, just “the beginning.”
Every beginning has a starting point and starting points do not have a time, day or year preference.
And John Mark is not interested in your self-improvement but he is anxious to introduce you to “the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the son of God.”
Here is another truth. Starting points are not exclusive to the day after an end of the year party. They don’t always follow feel-good events.
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” – Mark 1:14-15 (NIV)
John the Baptizer is put into prison and Jesus says, “The time has come!”
Prison, not a party is a marker for John Mark to tell us ‘It’s time.’
And he is right. It is time. It is time to follow Jesus, your true hope for a better life and a better future, THE goal of your life and THE goal of your faith.
It’s time, now. Jesus transcends time and offers himself to you in each moment of life. It’s ok if life has snuck up on you because Jesus reveals himself to us in a flash. Even if you feel unprepared you can still start, suddenly.
Please subscribe, share, and leave a comment below! Thanks for visiting!
Jovan preaches for the Littleton Church of Christ near Denver, Colorado. Visit here to listen to sermons preached at the Littleton Church.