Giving into love
Being on the edge of the new year, many of us are pondering what kind of surgery we want to perform on ourselves next year.
While there are times when I feel that such an approach to the new year is quite naive since for many of us 2024 sure looked a lot like 2023, I remain a fan of desiring new directions for ourselves. If I hadn't decide one year that it was time for me to regularly exercise, I wouldn't be regularly exercising today. So what are the changes we need to make? Movement is a great one, especially in a world of sedentariness. Losing weight is a great one, in a country in which 46% of us are obese. Getting your house more organized probably isn't a bad idea, since many of us are so overwhelmed by our houses that we find it hard to invite people into them. Any of those aren't bad, but I wonder if it wouldn't be bad to start where the Bible starts--idolatry. The fundamental calling of the Bible in terms of repentance is our idolatry, the ways we bow down at the feet of that which isn't worthy of our preoccupation. Our idols are everywhere present--alcohol, food, popularity, status, money, stuff, and most importantly, our little justification projects. And the consequences of those idolatries are legion--out of control lives, stuffed houses, anger, anxiety, lack of health, disconnection from other people. What if 2025 were a matter of dealing with our idols? What if we began to ask ourselves what would it mean to live not pursuing our false gods but giving into the love that is seeking after us? The God that rules the universe, the Christian faith says, is love. What if 2025 were a matter of giving into love?