Soon after Christmas ends comes the annual ritual of making resolutions, with all its accompanying hopes and trepidations, for the year ahead.
Many of us make them, or at least feel that we should.
And, like the Christmas toys, they are soon broken.
Recognizing human frailty, instead of making specific determinative resolutions, it’s better to cling to a general biblical round-the-year imperative which enjoins the believers to keep on walking daily, fixing their eyes on their Lord (Hebrews 12:2).
“Fixing” has the idea inherent in it of concentrating one’s gaze.
It means to look away from other things so one can focus all his attention on one object.
It requires a holy habit of soul and demands a continuous and sustained action.
Like a sailor on rough seas watching the computer screens, it is to make sure that we stay on course.
Earlier, the text gives a wonderful motivation when it says Christ is the “author and perfecter of our faith.”
This means at least three things:
• Jesus has already laid the foundation for our faith by his death and resurrection.
By that he made our salvation possible.
• He provided the perfect example to follow in that he trusted God perfectly.
Even when he was sorely tempted, he did not give in, but yielded up his human will to the perfect will of his Father.
• He gives us the faith we need when we feel like quitting. All true faith comes from him because faith itself is a gift from God.
The text in Hebrews reminds the readers that, because of Christ’s example, it is possible for his followers to undertake this daily walk.
The master Jesus walked the pathway before us because of “the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame.”
“Cross” and “joy” are contradictory terms.
The former speaks of pain, suffering, shame, ridicule, rejection and ultimate public humiliation.
It symbolizes a slow, agonizing death that often lasted several days.
There was nothing beautiful or humane about death on a cross.
Where is the joy in that kind of death?
The answer is there is no joy in death on a cross, but Jesus went to the cross and endured the pain and despised the shame that he might obtain the joy that would follow.
In the above phrase, there is the principle of delayed gratification.
We, too, can see this principle at work in our own lives on two different levels:
The first level is giving up the good to obtain the best.
Many in early days of a new year give up some types of food to lose weight.
There is sacrifice involved, but one is forfeited that a higher one might be achieved.
But, there is a higher level of delayed gratification that involves enduring pain to receive a reward.
This is why aspiring pianists practise for hours when they might be watching TV, in the hope some day they may play in concert halls.
Jesus said, “Follow me” and he went to the cross.
Are we willing to follow him in 2014 by being willing to endure pain and difficulty in order to know the joy of fulfilling God’s will for our lives?
As someone has beautifully exhorted believers to walk in the steps of the Master by simplifying the contrasts: “No pain, no gain. No suffering, no glory. No cross, no crown.”
Here is good cheer for the New Year:
Everything we need we will find in Christ.
He has all the hope, all the love, all the grace, all the power, all the forgiveness that we need to keep running the race.
Jesus has already run it for us.
Let us fix our eyes on him and all will be well.
