New is Good! 1 Peter 1: 1-12

Dear Family,

One of my biggest joys, growing up, was putting on a new pair of wrestling shoes. Something amazingly fresh about lacing them up and tightening them, for the first time of the season, that gave me hope that this year could be better than last year. I felt deep excitement and anxiety as i tied the laces together, bringing the two sides of my shoes together, in perfect harmony. It was as if i could feel the past year, even if it was a good one, dissipate into the abyss of some other memory. As i doubled knotted my shoes, i knew nothing in the past could affect my future. I had a clean slate, and these shoes reminded me of the power of a new beginning.

And it is this way every year, on December 31st, as the clock inches towards midnight, we begin to feel the anticipation of a new year, proming a new beginning, a new hope, a new chance at life, health, and love. As the ball drops on 2011 inviting 2012 to burst into our lives, it is like those new wrestling shoes on my feet, giving me a new chance to write a different story, maybe one with a much better ending than the previous year had been. We stand on the cusp of letting 2011 go the way of parachute pants, and i, for one, thank God 2011 is coming to an end.

I cant get away from 2011 fast enough.

And faith is like this too. According to our Scripture focus, faith is like a new beginning, one full of hope and promise, as the believer looks to a day when Jesus will restore all that is broken. Peter continues to encourage the reader, who in his day probably faced serious persecution, that to hold onto Jesus, even in the face of painful adversity, brings a deep hope, a deep sense of joy, and a deep sense of newness.

In other words. When we accept the challenge to believe in Jesus, and we embrace the cross of following Jesus, the old has fallen away, a new dawn has come, and our lives have something that they might have been missing all along: a new pair of wrestling shoes? No. New eyes to see our lives, no matter how difficult they might be, through the lens of Jesus. And Jesus always brings joy to those who see Him.

I do not want to overlook the painful aspects of life, even for Christians, but i do want to highlight a powerful reality: faith in Jesus promises peace and joy in the midst of the craziest storms. But we have to trust in Jesus, not in ourselves.

But new wrestling shoes are hard to manage on the mat. They are rigid, and i had to break them in by wearing them, over and over and over again. In order for the shoes to be fully effective, i had to use them, fully. So it is with faith. Faith might be good to save us from our darkness, but it has little power if we put it on once, ensuring salvation, and then put our faith on a mantel, like a trophy or consolation prize. Instead, like my wrestling shoes, faith is at its best when it is used, overworked, exhausted, and spent, then faith feels natural, works well, and serves its purpose.

So put on the shoes of a new year and embrace the clean slate God has given us that is 2012, and in the words of some wise sage from KLove, say "peace out to 2011." But do not let that clean slate remain clean; if we come to 2012 in faith, lets fill this slate with as much faith-filled ministries as possible, and if we do, 2012 will invite us to eat the delicious fruits of our faith at the great table of Love. Amen.

Shalom,
jerry