Can You Have a ‘Happy’ New Year?
December 31, 2024 | Auteure: Rod Taylor | Le volume: 31 Le numéro: 53 | Share: Gab | Facebook | Twitter
In seasonal exchanges around Christmastime and at the end of the Old Year, we commonly wish each other a ‘Happy New Year!’ Although this phrase means different things to different people, we are generally sincere when we say it. Most of us genuinely wish our family, friends and neighbours some form of happiness.
To folks “in the world”—those who have not yet made Christ their King or who have not ascribed deeper meaning to human existence—‘Happy New year!’ may just mean: “Enjoy yourself on the night of December 31st, have plenty to eat and drink, stay up past midnight and celebrate the passage of time with a new calendar.”
To many, the flipping of the calendar means we have to remember to change the year when dating a cheque or other document, and we look to the coming year as a blank page to be filled with new appointments, new challenges, new opportunities, new friends, new commitments. Some even make “new” resolutions: to eat less, to work harder, to exercise more, to read more, to spend more quality time with those they love. Often these are the same “old” resolutions they made in the past, but they hope that there is some magic power in declaring them on January 1st and truly plan to keep them this time . . . .
For those who acknowledge the sovereignty of God, our Creator, and who have accepted the brevity of human life and the responsibility we have to use our time on earth to accomplish the tasks that God has given us, to develop and use our character gifts, to encourage and protect our families, to influence society, to protect both our physical and moral environments, to make the most of our opportunities while we have breath—for those people—often the New Year’s greeting can be more like a prayer or a blessing. When they utter the simple words ‘Happy New Year!’, they are implicitly saying, “May the God of the universe, the Ruler of kings, the Author of life, bless you, may He open doors for you of service and opportunity, may He protect you from harm and reveal to you His good plans for your life!”
As we reflect on 2024 and look forward to 2025, what we have experienced in the past year will no doubt affect our expectations . . . even the way in which we hope and plan.
Despite our disappointments in the past year and the unknown challenges we will surely face in the new year, we must remember that God has good plans for us, plans for good and not for evil. As we learn to trust Him, we must establish new habits of thinking; as the Scriptures remind us, we should “. . . not lean on our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct our paths.”
The world we live in is fallen and corrupt. We need only turn on the news for a few minutes or reflect on events of the past year to know that this is so. We have “wars and rumours of wars”, violent crime in our cities, flagrant displays of sexual deviance and unjust decisions being handed down in the courts and human rights tribunals of our nation. We often see voters—even friends and neighbours—either choosing leaders who lack moral courage and character or who are simply choosing not to bother with voting at all, leaving decisions about the governance of our beloved Canada to others.
These are signs of the times, evidence of the inability of fallen mankind to create or maintain a peaceful and prosperous society without the guidance and assistance of Almighty God. Without Him we can do nothing. As members of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada, as sons and daughters of the Most High God, as citizens of heaven, we can and we must continue to press forward with our message of hope centred in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. And we must remind our fellow Christians that pragmatic politics—devoid of Christ—can never achieve the lasting results we all desire. The world may seem bleak and the challenges we face insurmountable. But with God, ALL things are possible. On behalf of the National Board of CHP Canada, we wish each one of you a ‘Happy New Year’, a year of growth and fruitfulness, of victory and discovery, a year of opportunity and satisfaction. May God guide you, provide for you, protect you and use you for His glory!
Other Commentary by Rod Taylor:
- Guerres commerciales et rumeurs de guerres commerciales
- Trade Wars and Rumours of Trade Wars
- Qu’est-il arrivé aux « gains » en matière de gains en capital?
- What Happened to the “Gains” In Capital Gains?
- Fermé pour la saison!
- Closed for the Season!