^“Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22-23, NASB).

Seven days into the New Year, and I am finally writing my first new blog post of the year. I wish I could find more time to write, but other responsibilities crop up. My last post was Part II of my series, “Modern-Day Elijahs.” That series may be delayed, but it has not been cancelled: the rest of the series is in the works.

Many people view the new year as the chance to make a fresh start. Some people make “New Year’s Resolutions.” On January 1, my Facebook feed reminded me that, about six years ago, I resolved to publish a book by the end of the year. It did not happen: Since then, my only New Year’s resolution is to avoid making New Year’s resolutions. Every now and then, I will take some time for self-examination, seeing where my life is and how my relationship with Christ is developing. While that often occurs around the changing of the years, it is not limited to that.

Still, it is hard to avoid making new starts with a new year. At work, we begin establishing goals for the new year. Why? Because it is January. In fact, part of the reason I took a few minutes to write tonight is because I signed up for an online course, “Blogging 101,” which offered the opportunity to kick-start a year of writing. Once again, I think there is only one reason why the organizers thought now would be a good time to have this course: It’s January.

For many Americans, New Year’s Day signals the end of the “holiday season,” which begins around Thanksgiving and climaxes on Christmas. However, the Christmas season proper does not end until Epiphany (January 6), ending the “12 days of Christmas.”

In some ways, this makes it a fitting time to consider ways that your life can change in the coming months and year. We commemorate a time when God became human, so that He could redeem us and restore us.

Over the last two weeks, I have been brought back to the verse at the top of this post several times. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the proclamation that Mary’s baby would be Immanuel, God-with-us. It ends with Jesus’ promise that He will remain with us, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). He came to become a man, to live among us, so that we could abide with Him and His Father forever. He promised to stay with us. The only question that remains is this: Will we stay with Him?

Jesus is “God-with-us.” My mission in 2016 is to be “Mike-with-God.” I hope to write more in 2016. I would love to finally publish that book. I have other goals and dreams for the coming year. However, all of that depends on where God leads me. If I remain “Mike-with-God,” I can be certain that “God-with-us” will lead me to accomplish His perfect will.

This post copyright © 2016 Michael E.
Lynch. All rights reserved.