Saturday, January 2, 2010

Happy New Year!

As the new year begins, we hear quite often the hope expressed that "this year will be better than last year." That kind of hope wells up inside of us as the calendar year turns over, but I'm wondering why we only think in these terms based on the calendar? Wouldn't it be better to keep this kind of hope daily? "I hope that today will be better than yesterday."

I suppose that we do carry this daily hope, albeit not so overtly. Without it we would despair. However as this new year begins, let me suggest going a step further.

If we are to grow as followers of Jesus, we need to assess our spiritual growth daily. Charting that growth through journaling will enable us to see the progress we are making in the spiritual life. And if we can see how God is "growing us up into Christ" (Eph. 4:15-16) that will feed our hope that today (this month, this year, etc.) will be better than the last.