2009 Resolutions

The New Year is typically a time of reflection and pondering the future. I think part of what makes us human is that we try to recover from our mistakes and do better the next time. We realize that we are not perfect, but yet we strive for perfection. When you think about it, that's not really a bad thing.

Since 1985, my wife and I have been involved in working with students and their families. We started out in church youth ministry and have ended up in Christian education working with middle and high school students.

Recently we began reading Family Ministry by Diana R. Garland. The book is somewhat clinical in its explanation of the description and development of families. It offers insight into the development of a family ministry within in the context of a church. I am not sure why we are reading it other than our experiences with families and a desire to have a better understanding of how families develop and communicate.

In discussing why families generate conflict and anger, the author suggests that one of the problems in family communication revolves around a need for power and autonomy. There is a section that caught my attention and I immediately made a spiritual connection to my personal relationship with Christ. I know it's problematic to pull out quotations and make an application other than what the author intended, but here it is:

"The partner who habitually and irritatingly piles papers in the middle of the dining table may be saying, 'You are in control of most of our life together, but there are still corners of my life that are mine over which you have no power.'"

I wrote a comment in margin of the page: "Do we do this with God?" Do we withhold certain areas of our lives from God to maintain some sense of power and autonomy?
With God, it is all or nothing. I cannot hold anything in reserve; He is either all of my life, or He is not.

Humanity has a tendency to compartmentalize their time and functions. Family time, a day with the guys, work time, school time, time with our spouse, alone time. You name it, if it is meaningful enough for us, we will create time for it. But God is different.

We cannot create a slot big enough for what He needs from us because He wants us, not just our time. God wants to be at the center of who we are, not first in line. Neither does He want to be allotted the largest time slot. In reality, it is not even a matter of priorities; God is either God, or He is not.

So, I am still thinking about the possibilities for 2009. I am even more keenly aware of what God expects. Hopefully 2009 will bring opportunities for us to center our lives in Christ. May He place us all strategically in the harvest field of humanity.

Blessings! May our humanness reflect Christ in 2009!