Reflections on the new year

Happy New Year!

Last night I reflected on the previous year and thought about the year to come. It seems the beginning of the new year is a time when many people think about the future. We make plans, we dream, we prepare, and all of this is done in hope. The future is a mystery, but we move into it with our plans and goals, much like creating a work of art, striving with hopeful certainty that it will one day be complete, bringing satisfaction. Followers of God prepare for the future in the hope that it is not only we who are creating, but that God is creating through us; as the Psalmist writes, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). This verse implies that while we do take action in building, most importantly, we need to build according to God’s architectural plan, in cooperation with God, otherwise our work is meaningless.

Who, then, is this God we must work with? How can we know we are creating alongside God; in other words, how can we know we are doing God’s will, living as he desires we live? Perhaps the following passage from the book of Jeremiah will help. I read it yesterday and have been reflecting on it in relation to the new year:

This is what the LORD says:

“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom

or the strong man boast of his strength

or the rich man boast of his riches,

but let him who boasts boast about this:

that he understands and knows me,

that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,

justice, and righteousness on the earth,

for in these I delight,”

declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

God has given us the gift of creativity, with which we shape the world. Consider how our designs steer the direction of God's creation, how they help and harm the planet: animals, plants, the elements, and fellow humans. It is with creativity that we prepare for the future. In our plans and executions of those plans, we often showcase our skill, our intellect, our resources, our abundance. While in many cases these qualities are good, God tells us through Jeremiah that such displays don’t quite represent the character of God. Who is God, and what does God make in the world? Kindness, justice, and righteousness; in such things he delights. If we are to be proud of something, it should be that we know and understand this God, and act in accordance with God’s ways.

How can my creating reflect the character of God? The future belongs to God; this year is in God’s hands, and God is already performing kindness, justice, and righteousness in the world. As I think about 2016 and as I act on my plans, may I do so in harmony with God, sharing his pursuit of kindness, justice, and righteousness. May my boast be solely in knowing this God, whose heart is merciful, most clearly revealed to us through his son Jesus, whose kindness, justice, and righteousness continue to create the world.