Ready or not, January is here, and often we want a new you for the New Year.

A NEW YEAR

January is the one time of year when the world expects each of us to develop greatness, which often entails fresh goals.

Our annual practice of setting goals materializes in numerous ways. Sometimes, we focus on financial goals. At other times, specific project goals get a hefty chunk of our attention. For most of my New Years, I’ve made lofty health and fitness goals that last as long as most New Year’s resolutions: seventeen and a half days. But I want a new you for the New Year. 

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Making our often-silly New Year’s resolutions is one way we try to make each year a little better than the last. But before we rush off to write or revisit our last-minute list of resolutions, we should consider that God has told us what should top our list.

Most folks are familiar with 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter. Paul extols the importance of love and then offers a list of how love behaves. But one chapter later is where we find the best God-sanctioned resolution of all:

Let love be your highest goal.

~1 Corinthians 14:1 NLT

NEW YEAR’S LOVE

Simply stated, our number one goal always should entail showing and being love to others. Too often, we believe we must work toward improving ourselves to be more valuable in God’s Kingdom, when our greatness might be as easy as loving others. Loving first, loving best, and loving most.

We can have a greater impact on our friends, families, and communities when we focus less on self-improvement and more on loving others. Nothing matters as much as showing the love of Christ daily in big and small ways can. Otherwise, we’re wasting our time and energy.

If I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

~1 Corinthians 13:3 NLT

What are your greatest challenges in loving others consistently and constantly?

Father God, help me be a constant source of love to those around me. Help me to extend mercy when it’s not deserved and give grace generously to all. Help me walk through each day, showing love as genuinely as Your Con did during His time on earth. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2022: New Year for a New You: Cynthia Mendenhall: All Rights Reserved