Happy New You!

Well, it's Janaury 10, 2008. Ten days into a brand new year. I'm just wondering: How are those New Year's Resolutions going?

Yeah, that's what I thought. Me, too. Not that I made any resolutions to begin this new year. I know better. I know me. I'm a real lame when it comes to the sort of self-discipline it takes to keep those resolutions.
It's kind of funny, isn't it? Every year, as we approach another new year, millions of us undergo this rush of incredible resolve. "I'm going to ..." You can add anything you want. Lose weight. Exercise more. Save money. Change my attitude, or eating habits, or whatever. But for the vast majority of us, it doesn't last more than a week or two.

We can't change ourselves. Resolve, or self-discipline, or willpower doesn't get it. The truth is only God can make lasting change in our lives. In fact, that's what He is all about: changing us.
But He's not changing me to make a better me. Far from it.
His plan, and the changes He's making in my life, are all toward making me to be "conformed to the image of His Son." (Romans 8:29)

To be like Christ. That's the goal. And that's His master plan for each of us. It doesn't happen with the turn of a page on the calendar or just because we start another new year. It happens every day, week after week, month to month, over the course of years.
The goal isn't "Have I lost twenty pounds since the first of the year?" Or "Am I watching less TV?" Or any of that stuff. It's "Am I more like Jesus today than I was yesterday? or last month? or last year?" That's God's resolution for us all.