2021 has been both a challenging and rewarding year for many of us. As we reflect on 2021, may we adopt the attitude of gratitude and thankfulness. May we take time to reflect on the goodness, grace and mercy of our loving God.
Let us be grateful for what our God has done for us. How God has sent Jesus Christ, His one and only Son, to be our Saviour. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. By His death, God has forgiven our sins and given us eternal life. One Corinthians 15:3-4 says, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” May we be grateful to God for giving us complete salvation through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Let us be thankful as we reflect on the year 2021. Let us thank God for our family and friends. Let us thank God for keeping us safe and seeing us through the Covid19 pandemic. Let us thank God for the sunshine and the rain. Let us thank God for seeing us through good times and bad times. Let us thank God for giving us victory overcoming our sin and temptation. Let us give thank God for His unfailing love, grace and mercy. Paul has instructed us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
All of us look forward to the year end with its festive celebration. My extended family looks forward to Christmas where we would have family time of thanksgiving. It is a time when we share God’s goodness, mercy and grace. It is a time of sharing how God has seen us through our often challenging and rewarding year, and answering our prayers.
May I encourage you likewise to have a time with family and friends, and reflect on God’s love, goodness, grace and mercy.
As we reflect on this year, I am sure there are areas in which we have done extremely well and areas where we may not have. I am sure many have started to set goals and objectives for next year. Some of us may set goals to lose weight, learn a new skill, improve on our work performance and do better in our school results or be more successful in our business. These are important and great to have. It is important to set goals for our livelihood.
It is more important, imperative and critical that we set goals for our spiritual life. Someone has wisely pointed out, “One of the most dangerous forms of human errors is forgetting what one is trying to achieve.” That is especially true in Christian life. It is easy to get side-tracked. We need to be clear and focused on what to work towards. What is the sole goal of our Christian life? If we forget it, we are not likely to achieve it. Paul nicely sums up what we are supposed to be aiming at: The goal of the Christian life is to know Christ and to be like Him. Paul exhorts us that his goal in life is to know Jesus Christ and be like him. Philippians 3:10-11 “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”
It is critical that we know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord of our life. We can achieve this through God’s word. It is not enough just to know who Jesus Christ is. It is critical that we keep his commands. We demonstrate our knowledge of Jesus Christ through our obeying his commands.
It is important to set goals. It is equally important that we instill the discipline to work on our goals. Paul describes our Christian growth as a race in Philippians 3:13b-14 “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” It requires discipline, hard work and focus. It is a daily effort to press towards our goal of knowing Jesus Christ and be like him.
As we reflect on this year, may we be grateful and thankful for what God has done for us. As we set goals for 2022, may we set goals to grow our spiritual life towards maturity. May we work hard, focus and press forward towards our Christian growth and maturity. Have a blessed year end and a happy new year!