Every New Year’s Day is a reminder

New Year’s Day has come and gone, at least for us who use the Gregorian calendar. Many Asian countries also celebrate the Chinese New Year, usually in January or February. The Jews celebrate theirs as Rosh Hashanah, in September or October. In ancient Israel, it is the first day of the “Festival of Trumpets,” (Leviticus 23:23-32), the first day of the seventh month, Tishrei, of the Hebrew calendar. It marks the first day of a 10-day celebration culminating in the tenth day, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Whatever calendar we are using, we always mark the new year to separate it from the previous old one. It’s a better, useful, milestone, easier to count and remember as compared to the other time metrics of months, weeks, or days, especially in consideration of a lifetime. How else do we count our time in this world than the years that we have lived? As a marker, we tick off birthdays, and new years, one more for each year we live.

But is it all that there is - count the years that we lived until the day we die? People speak of finding meaning and purpose in life. For some, it’s a secret that we need to find and enjoy. Many live for the present, enjoying the moment as they come. Others prepare for the future - building ourselves and our capabilities, our lives. Surely, it’s not just prolonging the human race as animals do. If we think long enough, we invariably come to some conclusion as Qoheleth, the son of David, did. “Futility of futilities! All is futility,” he wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:2.

And yet, towards the end of his book, the Preacher acknowledged, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). From the time man was created in the Garden of Eden, his whole purpose is to be in a loving relationship with his God, his Creator. This he broke by disobedience, insisting his will God’s will. Christmas reminded us that Jesus came and became man to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and disobedience. And the good news of salvation is that we can be reconciled with God through Christ and enter that loving relationship with him. To fear him and keep his commandments.

That is a once-in-a-lifetime decision - a willful, intentional decision to accept the gift of salvation and eternal life. And we have years of opportunity, months, weeks, days. What’s important is whether we have made that decision or not. A New Year’s Day is a constant reminder that we will never know what tomorrow will bring, whether we still have that golden opportunity. A quote attributed to Mark Twain says, “The two most important days in your life is the day you were born and the day you find out why.” For those of us who haven’t, each new year is a reminder that we have to, we need to. May the Lord God bless you and bring you to himself as we start 2021. A blessed new year to everyone.