09 Mar Resolute Love!

How many resolutions you have you made at the in the beginning of each New Year? May be a dozen, or or so many that you don’t even remember now. If I ask you how much it helped you? I think your answer will be a little, maybe for a few days or months and then you are back to the same. The point here is, a resolution does not help in the long run. You may write down the things in a paper which you don’t want to do in the next year and then burn it with fire burn with the fire. Well that will also not help you to get the score. For all these things are generated by the effort of oneself (human) and we know how vulnerable we are when it comes to falling down or making mistakes.

Long time ago I read one devotional where it beautifully presents Jesus restoring Peter after his great failure. Peter, though advance among the twelve disciples, and had said that he was ready to die with Jesus, yet when the time came to do it, he left him, and even denied knowing him thrice. The Bible mentions Peter weeping bitterly after the betrayal.

In John 21:3, we find Peter going back to his business i.e. fishing. The Bible doesn’t say anything about his feeling at this time but I think he probably had lost all his confidence that he didn’t want to step ahead for another commitment. He must be feeling guilt and ashamed. Finally he gave up the thought of becoming Jesus’ disciple. In continuation of the same chapter verse 15 mentions Jesus taking him aside and asking “Peter, do you love me?” three times.

Jesus doesn’t humiliate him nor does He criticize. He doesn’t ask him to make a resolution to try harder instead asks him to reaffirm his love for Him.

As we begin this New Year, we may be aware of where we have failed our Lord. Perhaps we were not faithful and fell out of our commitments or disobeyed and denied Him in many ways, but remember Jesus will ask the same question, “Do you love me?”.

This is our God who wants us to examine our love for Him. He doesn’t need our resolution and promise to do better and try harder this year. If our resolution of all these years to obey Him or to do better didn’t work, certainly it will also not work this year. The truth is we all need Christ and our love for Him will bring… which will bring the quality He desires in our services. He is the God of small things as well as big things. So we need Him in everything even in the little positive changes we want to have such as, getting up early, practising quiet time, managing time etc. Let us reaffirm our love for Him and in every activity we do, may God’s love be our motivation. And may it bring the quality in our services, be it our prayer life, quiet time, GBS, fellowship with one another, camps, conference etc. in the coming year.

Between many Hellos and Goodbyes God remains faithful.
As we are saying Hello to the year 2017
And Goodbye to the year 2016.
May God be always your Hello, Never be your Goodbye.

Ushia Rai,
M.SC Agricultural Extension (1st Year) Mohanpur ICEU, West Bengal