Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.”
1 Corinthians 13: 4-6 (ESV)
Here we go—2021.
We’ve been clamoring and whining for this brand New Year to come, pretty much throughout most of the last.
But will this New Year be any different than the last?
Or will it be the same, or some variation of the events and moments of 2020?
No matter what goes on in the world around us, the answer to that will depend a great deal on how we approach each day.
I read an interesting note recently by Diane Stark published by the ministry Focus on the Family located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The application of her note to our journey ahead may do a lot to set a better course for our 2021 journey.
She wrote, that—
“When my daughter had a crush on a boy, I asked her to place his name in 1 Corinthians 13:4-6.
She did. ‘Sean is patient and kind; Sean does not envy or boast; Sean is not arrogant or rude. Sean does not insist on his own way; Sean is not irritable or resentful; Sean does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.’ She frowned. ‘I saw him pick on another boy in the hallway. I guess he wasn’t very kind.’
She began to rethink her interest in him. This verse has not only given my daughter greater discernment about others, but it also has helped her reflect on her own behavior. I asked my daughter to substitute her own name into that passage. Then I explained that when we become more like Jesus, we become the right type of person for someone else to like.’”
So here’s a thought for a resolution for our journey—yours and mine—in 2021.
Why don’t you and I put our names in every slot (every slot) in that section of Paul’s letter which he wrote to the church at Corinth. For example—
“Scott is patient and kind; Scott does not envy or boast; Scott is not arrogant or rude. Scottdoes not insist on his own way; Scott is not irritable or resentful; Scott does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.”
If you pressed my family and friends, they would lovingly tell you that I have a little work to do, and probably could use some company and moral support on the journey.
And, I suspect—regardless of the viruses still in the world, the political skirmishes and entanglements we have to witness, or the unrest in our streets—that our 2021 would be a whole lot better than we ever imagined, if we were able to live out in our lives that section of I Corinthians 13: 4-6.
I suspect that together we’d be making a personal improvement, and the people and world around us a bit better with each thought, word, act and step we take.
Why not.
Ready? Let’s go!
Happy New Year.
In His Name–Scott
