That said, every time the calendar changes and a new year begins, decade or not, it is a good time to pause and consider the graciousness of God who has redeemed time for us in Christ so that our days are not lived out in the face of death and with the prospect that our sins will get the last word. Even more so, it is time to rejoice over the God whose mercy remains ever new -- even in the face of the same tired old sins we commit in thought, word, and deed. His is what is new and we present to Him all that is ours -- old, tired, worn out, and weary though it may be. Refreshment comes from Him, from the hope He has planted in us by baptism, and by the faith that lives not by what the eye sees but what His Word promises.
This has been a long year for me and a I am ready to let go of it, at least some parts of it. That is why the secular calendar and God's kairos have a connection. His is the redemption not only of me but of time and by His gracious favor I have a future. That future is written not simply by wrongs but by the forgiveness and restoration of the God who loved us enough to send His Son into our flesh to redeem that flesh and our souls. He does so with the name, the name above all names, that hallows New Year's Eve into the Eve of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus. Blood shed for the Law begins the new year and the Name of salvation starts off the counting of days again.
Happy New Year!
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