There Is No New Thing

The wise man put it well when he said, "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." As we view things, this is a new year, a clean page, along with brand new opportunities. It may well be that we need these new beginnings, these new days, new weeks, new months, new years; for we often cannot handle an endless day, and perhaps the psychological effect of new beginning helps us to lay aside the spoiled past. But let us ever remember that in reality (and that's what Solomon deals with) a new year is nothing but that which we have experienced before. When midnight came and a new year was ushered in, there wasn't anything magical about it. One hour led to the next hour, one minute ended as another began and the world didn't stand still while we blew our trumpets and sounded our greetings. The fact of the matter is that unresolved problems are still there, unpaid bills are still unpaid, unforgiven sins are still unforgiven, and unaccomplished tasks are still waiting for us. We need to come to the realization that life, as God intended it, is not really lived in spurts, nor is it defined in terms of getting something done before the year ends. Rather, it is an ongoing, continuous way of life. When we speak in terms of "sowing wild oats while I'm still young," or "making resolutions for the new year," or "planning to repent before I die," we betray a failure to realize that with God, "today is the day that the Lord hath made." It is not a matter of repenting some day, or making our changes when the new year comes, but rather it is a matter of changing life now, regardless of the day, and living as God wants us to life.  Whenever I say "tomorrow," I betray a real desire to hold on to the sinful ways of an old life. James warns us against those tomorrows. Today is all that God has given us. There are no guaranteed tomorrows.

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