Will You Live God’s Purpose For Your Life This Year?

Happy New Year!  As we enter into a new year many of us reflect upon our accomplishments and failures of the last year.  We then look forward to the coming year and decide how we need to change.  We envision a better “me” and then set our goals or resolutions to make that prefered future come to pass.

Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions?  If so are they in alignment with God’s purposes for your life?

People say the greatest question is “What is the purpose or meaning of life.”  Well that is not much of a mystery when you read the word of the one who created all life.  God has created you to be in a perfect relationship with Him and to reflect his image to all creation.  (Gen 21:26-28).  Yet, we didn’t do that.  Sin entered the world and broke the image of God in us and we separated ourselves from Him in our rebellion.  Yet since then, God’s will has been to restore what is lost.

• According to the bible God’s first desire is that you believe in him (Jn 6:29). He wants a restored relationship with you.  The beautiful this is that God did the work to make this happen.  When we were still helpless, Christ died for us.  We are justified freely by his grace.  We are his children, and so we should desire to know our Heavenly father more and more.   Make it your first priority, this year,  to read God’s word, meet and learn with God’s people through a church, and to pray or talk to God daily.

• Secondly, God has also created you to love Him with all that you are and to love you neighbors as yourself (Matthew 22:34-40).  He wants you to be in a good a loving relationship with both God and everyone else.  This is part of God’s work in recreating the image of God in each of us.  As we hear the Gospel, God’s Spirit transforms us and teaches us to say no to ungodly things, and yes to God’s purposes.  So then, we desire to reflect God’s love to one another. This year, focus on loving others as God showed such great love to us through sending his Son into this world to save us. (1 John 4:10).

• Lastly, God has created you to share God’s image again by being a witness to who God is and what he’s done (Matthew 28:16-20).  You can love others in many ways, but if you never share with them how they can reconnect with their true father and creator, if you don’t share with the way to eternal life, you aren’t all that loving at all.

Have you made your New Year’s Resolution?  If so, is it aligned with God’s purpose?  This year may we only resolve to know God more and to let him transform us into his image to be used for His purposes.  This is the way to the best people we can be.  This is the only way to make what we do in this coming year and our lives count forever.