New Year’s Resolution by Leigh Colhmia (Jan. ’02)
What is the value of life? Some might say the value of life can be judged when you accomplish things and are remembered for them. Others may say the value of life is found intrinsically in a human being. While the value of life is a difficult subject to discuss, I will attempt to do my best at showing the meaning I give to the value of life. I feel that as humans we don't know the true meaning of life until something bad happens to us. In America, we take so many things for granted. It took an event like September 11 to bring us all together as one nation. We should be living our lives as Christ did and be thankful for all that we have.
“Christian” literally means "little Christ." Is taking so many things for granted Christlike? Let’s take a look at just how much we in America take things for granted. Food for example. In other countries, people may get asked, “Would you like pizza?” In America we get asked what kind of pizza would you like — pepperoni, sausage, green olives, black olives, pineapple even! Or think about water: would you like bottled water or water from the tap? In some countries they don't even have a tap or water that is clean enough to drink. It is small things such as these that we take for granted.
Sometimes in life one just needs to slow down and look around and praise God for what we have. When comparing our country to others, it is hard not to see why we have so much to be thankful for. There are so many things that are just handed to us that we don't even notice. Whether it is money, food, clothing, or shelter to name a few, we need to understand that all of this is God taking care of us. Our taking things for granted is an affront to God, especially when we ask him for more when we are already in overabundance. However are we willing to give more? Are we ready to give to our greatest potential?
The greatest Commandment God gave us was to treat one another as we would like to be treated. Would we like to be slapped in the face like we do to God? If you were to give someone a gift, would you like it if they said, “Thanks, but I really wanted a new car, not this.”? I didn't think so. This is precisely the reason why we must always be watchful of our actions and thankful for the gifts He has given us. We must ALWAYS be acting like “little Christ children.” I do not recall a story in the Bible in which someone invites Christ to dinner and He says, “Wow, what a great chicken, but I really wanted steak.” We are all guilty of complaining at the dinner table saying how this food is disgusting, or how we really wanted a ham sandwich not a turkey sandwich. But we should really start examining our situation and be thankful for the abundance God has blessed us with. We must be keeping Christ in our minds especially as this new year begins.
At the beginning of every new year we always hear of people who are going to lose weight or watch what they eat or exercise more often. Do you ever hear of people saying that they want to become closer to God? Or people saying they want to increase their prayer life? I think that because this past year was as difficult as it was, we need to make a special resolution to be thankful and to make our lives Christ-filled and Godserving. It’s not a matter of just being thankful around Thanksgiving when the entire family take turns saying, “I'm thankful for this fellowship” or “I'm thankful for this meal we have together.” We must be thankful all the time as Christ was when He was alive. In James 1:17 we read, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." This shows us the perfection of God and how he is the source of all good things. He created everything! A man can make a million dollars and take personal credit for his joy. But who gave him the skills and abilities to make that million dollars? In a way, when we take things for granted we fail to see Him as the cause of all our happiness.
In Psalm 136 it says," O Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endureth forever." God's love will always be here for us unlike the material belongings we acquire in our lives. We should not take life for granted. When someone dies, it seems that there is always someone saying, “I wish I had been nicer to this person” or “I wish I would have done this with them before they died.” We never know the hour in which God can come for a person, therefore we must always be treating others with the love that God shows us, which is unconditional.
The ultimate resolution I think we should all make for the new year is to increase our prayer lives and be thankful for everything. Every day try and discover something new that God has given you that you have never noticed before and thank Him for it. We should also try and do our best not to ask for so many unneeded things this year. Sometimes the smallest thing we ask for is the greatest another can possess. Try this year to be a more giving person instead of always thinking of what more you need. Once you have Christ in your life, what more do you need? As Psalm 136 tells us, "His mercy endureth forever." Can you think of anything else in life that will last you forever? Christ is the One true light that will never fade. I encourage each of you to learn from mistakes in the past and improve on them helping to increase your spiritual life. May God's grace abundantly bless you in this new year and bring you closer to Him who is the Truth and the source of all unfading goodness.
