January 1, 2018! ---By Gail McKenzie
Yesterday was the last day of 2017 and by one stroke of the clock it became the first day of 2018! It’s the end and beginning. Both words are rich in meaning! Nobody likes to be last in line, the last to finish a test, or come in last place in a race! It’s not a position anyone covets! The word seems so final, like the end of something and who likes endings?
Beginnings on the other hand lend a sense of anticipation of something unexplored or encountered! It conveys the idea of freshness and newness. It’s like opening a gift, the unveiling of new opportunities, or being introduced to a new friend. It’s waking up to something pristine, not blemished or marred yet by anything from the past!
The Bible has a lot to say about both. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word...” King David’s last words are recorded along with his first and last acts. God in Isaiah more than any other OT book announces, “I am the First and I also am the Last!” Jesus said multiple times, “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” And John in Revelation three times records God’s declaration, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last!”
We can’t change yesterday or remove it from our memory. Contrary to what a Hallmark movie might portray, there is no “do-over” to make 2017 better or different. We only have today which is always a new beginning with God. Praise the Lord He is all encompassing as OUR First and Last, as He redeems our past, justifies our present, and sanctifies us for the future! Jesus said to be “born again” which means we must leave the past behind and begin anew!
The last day of 2017 is over. The first day of 2018 is not just a “happy” new year, but a joyous beginning! It truly is the last and the first, and I can hardly wait!
Yesterday was the last day of 2017 and by one stroke of the clock it became the first day of 2018! It’s the end and beginning. Both words are rich in meaning! Nobody likes to be last in line, the last to finish a test, or come in last place in a race! It’s not a position anyone covets! The word seems so final, like the end of something and who likes endings?
Beginnings on the other hand lend a sense of anticipation of something unexplored or encountered! It conveys the idea of freshness and newness. It’s like opening a gift, the unveiling of new opportunities, or being introduced to a new friend. It’s waking up to something pristine, not blemished or marred yet by anything from the past!
The Bible has a lot to say about both. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word...” King David’s last words are recorded along with his first and last acts. God in Isaiah more than any other OT book announces, “I am the First and I also am the Last!” Jesus said multiple times, “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” And John in Revelation three times records God’s declaration, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last!”
We can’t change yesterday or remove it from our memory. Contrary to what a Hallmark movie might portray, there is no “do-over” to make 2017 better or different. We only have today which is always a new beginning with God. Praise the Lord He is all encompassing as OUR First and Last, as He redeems our past, justifies our present, and sanctifies us for the future! Jesus said to be “born again” which means we must leave the past behind and begin anew!
The last day of 2017 is over. The first day of 2018 is not just a “happy” new year, but a joyous beginning! It truly is the last and the first, and I can hardly wait!
