WWJD By Dr. Richard Youngblood
Question: Do you think Jesus would encourage us to make
New Year’s resolutions? If so, what do
you think he would consider the most important resolution for us to make?
New Year’s resolutions are but another way of setting
goals for ourselves in the coming year.
Since Jesus had a clear sense of purpose and goals for his life on
earth, he also encourages those who would be his disciples to follow this
example (John 13:15 cf. 1 Corinthians 11:1).
The most vital goal that Jesus would have us to follow is that of love. “As I have loved you,” he said, “so you
must love one another” (John
13:34). He called love the greatest and
most important of all the commands (Matthew 22:36-40; Mark 12:28-31). Therefore, I believe Jesus would have us
resolve to pursue more loving relationships in our new year.
Studying the way Jesus loved and served those around
him is essential to fulfilling this resolution, but we can also learn from the
great summary of what it means to love as found in 1 Corinthians 13. Here we are told about the absolute essentiality
of love, how love works in practical everyday life and that love is the one thing that we can always depend upon. Let’s consider what this
great chapter says.
The chapter begins by telling us that anything done
without love is empty and meaningless (1 Cor. 13:1-3). Even if one could understand all the
mysteries of the world and have knowledge beyond human comprehension, he is
nothing if he does not use this knowledge in love. Jesus once spoke of a faith by which one
could move a mountain from one place to another (Matthew 17:20), but the writer
of 1 Corinthians shows that this great power is meaningless if not motivated by
love. All of the words, knowledge, power
and skills in the world combined can only bring harm if not accompanied by
loving concern for the will of God and for our fellow human beings. Nothing can replace love.
This great chapter goes on to describe the way love acts
in our daily lives: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it
does not boast, it is not proud. It is
not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth. It always protects, always
trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Since God
is love, this is a description of God.
It is also a description of Jesus and his love for the world. We need to work toward loving like this so
that this can be a description of each one of us. In making our resolutions for the coming year,
we should concentrate most on this part.
Finally, the writer of 1 Corinthians declares that
love is the only thing we can fully depend upon. When all else fails, love is the only thing
that will continue (1 Cor. 13:8-12).
“Now these three remain: faith, hope and love,” the writer says, “But
the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13).
Someday faith will become sight, and hope will become a present reality
for those who love God and one another in this way. But love will continue eternally along with
those who join our God and Christ in love.
If we make no other resolution for the coming New
Year, may we resolve to build genuinely loving relationships modeled after the
example of Jesus and the teachings of the great love chapter of the Bible, 1
Corinthians 13. To do this, we will need
to spend time looking at the life of Jesus and at the way he related to
people. Then, with his help we can
change our world, one person at a time.
This one resolution is comprehensive enough to achieve everything else
we need in the coming year. If you want
to make a real difference in you own life and the lives all around you, make
love for others your goal for 2010.
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