New Year's Resolution

"For I resolved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."

These were Paul's words to the church at Corinth, a small band of Christ-followers wrestling out their faith and the implications of it on their lives. He told them he didn't have to learn more, speak more eloquently, or be more likable. He only resolved to live in the power of Jesus.

Last week I made out my list of things I am resolved to do in 2011. You know... the usuals. Read more, live healthier, love my family, and so on. And in the midst of all my list-making, that still small voice in me spoke and asked, "Is all this stuff for me or for you?" Ouch. It continued, "Are you doing this to point people to something higher or just to feel better about yourself and to be more liked or admired?" My love of self was exposed. I realized that if we aren't careful, the outcome of our resolutions, if we stick with them, can be to make us more independent, arrogant, and disconnected from God.

How about another route? Resolve in 2011 to know Jesus and him crucified. Make your resolution to be to abide in him as John 15:1-17 speak of. Rest in Jesus. And let all the stuff -- all the well-intended resolutions -- be to bring him fame and to know him more.

Back to my list. I'll read more... as a reminder that I am a work in progress and that smarter men and women have walked the road before me and have much to offer. I'll exercise and drink more water... as a statement that my body is not my own, that I am just its steward. I'll love my wife and family well... because that's how God has loved me in Christ, and I pray they get to experience the love I have.

And at the end of it all, on December 31st, I don't have to be a smarter, more fit, more at peace, or more liked version of the me of early January. I pray I'll be more conformed to the image of Christ. And I pray I will be closer to him. That's a resolution worth keeping, a resolution that empowers all the others.