New Year, New You…?
At the start of every new year, we often vow to make a change and improve on ourselves, don’t we? We look at the areas of our lives that, perhaps, aren’t bearing the kind of fruit that we would like, and we set about making changes.
All good stuff.
But what if there are more important things to focus on this year? What if we simply need to be more authentically who we are?
As a staff body, we meet together every morning to devote ourselves to God and pray. This habit has set us up for each day that we serve and unites us as a team.
During one of our recent devotions, a member of our staff described a picture God had given her of three Ming vases.
These Ming vases were all blown over by a wind and, as they toppled over onto their sides, the makers’ marks on their bases were revealed.
Two out of three of the vases proved to be from the likes of John Lewis or Marks and Spencer’s but one bore the authentic maker’s mark.
When our member of staff pressed God more regarding the image He had revealed to her, she learned that God was trying to talk to her about authenticity.
The new year often brings with it declarations of transforming our lives and lifestyles into fitter, stronger, more efficient ones. We vow to lose weight, get healthy or save more money and the like.
We set ourselves up to reinvent our lives for the better and aim to design a ‘new me’.
What if this year we don’t do all of that?
Rather than heap pressure onto ourselves to be immaculate in any and every situation, how about we reveal the struggle and let others know that following Jesus and knowing Him does not mean a ticket to a free ride in life. It means navigating life with Him, rather than without Him.
What if, this year, we aim to simply be our authentic selves, to reveal our Maker’s mark no matter what winds of life may blow our way this year?
Our ministry vision here at CBN Europe is to make Jesus known in every household in the UK, Europe and beyond.
This is a big vision and a large responsibility; one we all take very seriously.
By being our authentic selves, we can display Jesus (make Him known) to others so much more clearly than when we ‘try’ to be the perfect version of ourselves or even a perfect Christian.
Life happens to all of us and sometimes that looks like hardship and strife (see John 16:33).
When life does happen, it might be more beneficial for those watching our lives and observing what being a Christian looks like, to see that we handle life’s ups and downs the way any other human being would – the best way we can.
Rather than heap pressure onto ourselves to be immaculate in any and every situation, how about we reveal the struggle and let others know that following Jesus and knowing Him does not mean a ticket to a free ride in life. It means navigating life with Him, rather than without Him.
Perhaps by showing that life hits us hard too as followers of Jesus, by being authentic, we will be able to bridge the gap between believer and non-believer.
Our ultimate aim should always be to love God and love others. If by being more authentically ourselves we can show our humanity and draw others to knowing the truth of who Jesus is in our lives, I think that would make for a pretty successful year.
