Articles
Resolutions 2022
Once again we have rung out the old and rang in the new. As is the case each New Year, as we have transitioned to our new calendars, many people have made and are talking about their New Year’s resolutions.
Commitments are being made to start some things and to stop others. Some have resolved to fight the “battle of the bulge” with a new diet. Others are flocking to the fitness centers with renewed determination to get into shape.
Some have vowed to break the cigarette habit, employing new strategies. Still others have promised themselves that they will turn from their procrastinating habits and not wait until the last minute or be late when getting tasks done or when arriving at appointments.
What prompts all this thought about oneself and one’s life at this time? Why all this thought about life and resolutions to change? I believe that this is caused by a combination of two things, 1) A realization that time is passing by and 2) in light of the passage of time (as we see it “getting away from us”), there is a renewed desire to improve oneself- to be better, to look better, to feel better, to live better- to maximize life.
Won’t you study with me from the Word of God concerning how these two motivations should cause you to make the most important resolutions of all, spiritual resolutions, resolutions that will not only effect your life in 2022 and beyond, but for eternity?
Time in a Bottle
A Classic Rock song concerning “time” makes a wish and provides a lament that explains the reason for the wish: “If I could put time in a bottle, the first thing that I’d like to do, is to save every day ‘til eternity passes away just to spend them with you. You know, there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them…”
As all men, the author of these words recognized that time was slipping away from him and that there just wasn’t enough of it to devote to what he found to be fulfilling. He wished to be able to put it into a bottle and then to spend it all on the woman whom he loved, since it was in her that he found his supreme fulfillment.
However long and hard that we may wish to store time in a bottle, it is impossible to contain. It gets away from us. With 2021’s passing, we have used up a year of our lives on earth. We’ve spent time that we will never have to spend over again.
What makes time passing so significant is that it is going to keep on passing until we have no more left. God said that we must die and return to the dust from which He created us. He told Adam, “By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19). Life is like a vapor, like fog from the frozen ground on a warmer winter day. James wrote, “You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (Js 4:14).
Moses was the psalmist who wrote of life’s limitation, “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years” (Ps 90:10). Life expectancy is far less than Moses wrote in many countries. And we, whose average life expectancy closely mirrors that of Moses’ day, have no assurance that we will live that long.
Death may come at any time. As Solomon wrote, “Moreover man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them” (Eccl 9:12).
Cemeteries all around us point out that time cannot be “bottled”. Time ran out for many we have known and yet love. It is running out on us. Let us ask of God, “Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am” (Ps 39:4).
True Happiness
You cannot even begin to live wisely until you realize that your days are numbered. Moses prayed, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Ps 90:12). Only by accepting the sobering truth of death will you be able to prioritize how you live it and make the most of your time. Have you been living your life in view of death?
Solomon, with God’s guidance, wrote Ecclesiastes which has as its subject material observations about “life under the sun” (1:3). He was well aware that there is a “time to give birth and a time to die” (3:2). He set out with wisdom to explore everything done under the sun so that he could find the most fulfilling way to spend his time, and therefore contentment and happiness (2:13).
In his search for satisfaction, the king tried wisdom (1:16-18; 2:12-16), entertainment (2:1-2), possessions (2:4-11), and work (2:18-22). He found all of these pursuits to be vain when it came to providing contentment- like trying to catch the wind. His efforts left him frustrated and empty, especially when he viewed these activities in light of death.
Does what you are living for provide real satisfaction for you?
If you are striving for wisdom, think about it. You will die just like the fool. And, who will remember you and your wisdom after you are gone (2:15-16)? So, why were you wise?
If you are living for the world’s entertainment (that we have access to 24/7 in our time), after you are dead, what will those laughs do for you; where will your enjoyment be then (2:2)?
If your purpose and priority in life is to gain possessions, you will never have enough (5:10), you could lose them and be devastated and destitute (5:13-14), and you cannot take them with you (5:15-16). So, why were they your goal?
If your life is all about working, you may work with genius, but you will leave the results to one who has no sweat in it who may be a fool and ruin everything (3:18-21). You worked so hard, for what?
Solomon’s desire to live better and to live with a sense of satisfaction led him to God and something meaningful both in life and beyond the grave. He found ultimate purpose in fearing God and keeping His commandments and pre-paring for His judgment (12:13-14).
By living as your Creator would have you to live, you can find true satisfaction. Your worldly pursuits can be enjoyed in their place- not as your priority, not as your purpose for living, and not as your reason for true happiness.
It is not too late to resolve to change course and let your search and desire for true happiness and contentment lead you, as it did Solomon, to God.
Resolve
As you begin this New Year, you may have many plans to change and to enrich your life. You may be going to diet and exercise to help yourself physically. You may be seeking further education to grow mentally. You may be planning to form new relationships and to strengthen the ones you have to grow socially. You may have work and investments in mind so that you may prosper more financially.
But, what do you have planned for you spiritually? Do you have any plans for your soul- the part of you that will go on after the physical body has returned to the dust, the mind has thought his last thought, the last earth-tie has been severed and all your dollars have been left behind?
Why don’t you resolve to study the Bible and to obey God? By getting right with God and staying right with God, you can have a satisfying and fulfilling 2022, regardless of what happens to you physically, mentally, socially and financially.
We would love to help you make 2022 a year to remember for what you have done to save and to nourish your soul and to find the joy and peace that will go with you beyond the grave. Please review the info at the end of this page the many ways for you to connect with us and learn.
Certainly, we would also be glad to come to your home or a place of your choosing to have a private Bible study as well.
Start the New Year off right by making and keeping the most important resolutions of all- the spiritual ones!
Ways to Connect and Learn
www.woodlandhillschurchofchrist.org
www.thevirtualpulpit.org
tinyurl/whillsyoutube (Livestream, recordings, short videos)
Teleconference of Sunday worship & Wednesday AM and PM Bible study
Dial-in number is 1-917-900-1022; Conference ID is 748- 7068#
Woodland Hills church of Christ
2718 N. Wabash Avenue
Marion, IN 46952
Schedule of Services:
Sunday
Bible Study 9:30 AM
Worship Livestream/phone available 10:30 AM
Wednesday
Bible Study phone available 10:00 AM
Bible Study Livestream/phone available 7:00 PM
Phone: (765) 662-3304
