The celebrations, trumpets, and parties can be heard as the world ushers the new year. It is 2018 now. As people welcome this new year with optimism and new hope, there are those who don’t see the new year as something to be excited about. Those who lie on their bed due to sickness feel that everyday is the same. Those who are lonely and abandoned by their loved ones feel the same way. There is nothing exciting or special about the new year. We can, in a way, sympathize with that. Indeed, apart from Christ, new year doesn’t really bring hope. It’s just a repetition of the old one with some variations to prevent boredom.

Lamentation 3:22-23 states that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness. God’s mercy makes our day. It creates new day and new year for us. As we grow in years, our physical strength wanes, and our years are filled with all kinds of problems and challenges. And yet, here we are in the new year. There is only one explanation: God is merciful to us. He grants us another year and another opportunity to serve Him in this world. He renews our life with His mercy. He renews our spirit with His steadfast love. Even as we undergo changes, and circumstances don’t work in our favor, God’s love remains faithful. When others leave us in loneliness, God remains with us. He refreshes us with the fountain of His grace every single moment that we can continue in this Christian journey.

Let us enter this new year with a joyful spirit since God is merciful to us. What He has done for us through the cross of Christ is more than enough. The gospel is always good news in the new year just like it was 2000 years ago. If it successfully carries the church since its birth until today, it surely will carry us forward in this new year and all the way to the glorius return of Jesus Christ.

Happy New Year and God bless you!

Rev. Wilson Suwanto