“You must worship Christ as Lord of your life”
(I Peter 3:15)
I grew up in the age of bobby sox that transitioned into patterned tights, saddle shoes that transitioned into go-go boots, and poodle skirts that transitioned into miniskirts. Cars had big fins, lava lamps lit our rooms, and Spoolies curled our hair. People “liked Ike.” The Beatles wanted to “Hold my hand.” And “Happy Days” made us all, well, happy. It was a simple time and life was good. No pandemics. No thought of ever murdering a baby in a woman’s womb. No “alternative lifestyles.” No video games. We improvised our own fun, playing Hide and Seek, Tag, Leapfrog, Blind Man’s Bluff, and Follow the Leader.
But now, as we usher in a New Year this week and I reflect on my life, I am keenly aware that the constant ticking of the clock over all these years has transformed the simplicity and joy into a complex and menacing condition to be reckoned with. Sadly, no turning of the page on a calendar is going to make it better, much as we all want to slam the door in 2020’s face. No vaccine for a pandemic, no stimulus check from the government is going to improve the mess we are in. Nor can we point the finger at anyone and blame them for where we find ourselves.
What exactly is our problem anyway? How did we arrive at this heartbreaking condition? If we are willing to be honest with ourselves, we will discover that we are looking in the wrong place for the reason we are where we are, as well as the wrong source for our solution. America, like a trail of nations who have gone before us, have pushed God out. We, like countless generations that preceded us, have decided we can make life work without God. Like our ancestors in the Garden, we have swallowed the lie that we can “be our own gods.” We have gotten into trouble by trying to live life on our own, when all the time God has had a perfect plan for each of us. Our world, our nation, and each one of us have but one hope. That hope is to repent of our selfish-independence and turn our hearts and lives over to the only One who can save us from ourselves – Jesus Christ.
As we turn our calendars to a new year, I encourage each of us to search our hearts. If we call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ, are we truly following him, or are we rebels who live independent lives? Surrender is very freeing. We need to stop playing Blind Man’s Bluff with our lives, just making things up as we go along. We need to truly live a life that Follows the Leader.
May 2021 be filled with God’s love and hope in your life, Darlene