Proverbs 29:18: ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he' (KJV)
Much has been said and written about New Year’s resolutions. So much so that we find ourselves convinced that, as we start a new year, there is a great need to change our ways and do things better this time. In the secular sense however, by about February or March we find that we have kind of forgotten about our promises that we are going to change and we revert to our old ways again.
As Christians we need to apply the principle somewhat differently; We are blood-bought children of the Creator God, redeemed from sin and death and we therefore have resources at our disposal which the secular, unbelieving world cannot offer. The fact that we operate within a calendar to provide some order to our lives is a means whereby we can plan and make decisions in an orderly fashion.
New year’s resolutions in the secular sense are folly – we should be changing all the time in accordance with scriptural principles and admonitions as we pursue God and learn to know Him better.
Having said all this, there is a sense that from time to time we need to take time out and review where we are in our spiritual walk. We should in fact be doing this all the time as a matter of course but in this sin ravaged world, too often we are caught up in the things of the world and do not pay enough attention to what God is saying to us. Most of us probably spend a bit of time each day studying the word either through a set of daily readings or other similar means. This in itself is good provided that we are taking on board the teachings and admonitions from these studies and are applying them diligently to our lives.
It is too easy however, to get into the habit of thinking that because we are doing this every day, everything is OK and we can press on with what we do in our secular lives. We have to ask ourselves questions rather – are we actually progressing in our spiritual lives for God or are we just bumbling along content with the status quo?
God calls us to live a holy life and we can only do this if we actively apply scriptural principles to our lives. If we are honest, most of us are not doing that and are thus not ‘growing in Christ’ as we should.
This brings us to our scripture reading for today: The author quite clearly states that if we do not have a vision for our lives, we will perish in the spiritual sense. However, the verse goes on to say by inference, that if we constantly seek a vision from God for our lives we will live happy and fulfilled lives. As a reminder, take yourself through the following checklist and see where you are at the moment:
- Are there any sinful habits which have risen up in your life which you need to deal with?
- Are you spending enough time alone with God?
- Are you spending time regularly studying God’s Word?
- Are you spending time in fellowship with other believers?
- Are you seeking God for a fresh vision in your life?
- Have you seen significant spiritual changes in your life over the past year to indicate that you are actually growing in Christ?
If the answers to the 6 questions are generally in the negative (and I suspect that they are), we need to sit down and think through our lives again. Christ calls us to live for Him. Too often we are caught up in the troubles of the world and have no time for spiritual matters. We need to take heed – Christ is our life and if He is not pre-eminent right now in our lives, we are NOT progressing.
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The Law and the Gospel are two keys. The Law is the key that shutteth up all men under condemnation, and the Gospel is the key which opens the door and lets them out.
William Tyndale
