17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (II Corinthians 5)
A New Year. Many of us make resolutions for this year to be different. Often those resolutions have to do with personal goals, physical exercise, diets, and things that have to do with one's own mind or body. Here Paul talks about the greatest difference one can have: the power of Christ to reconcile us to God and to others. Sometimes the latter seems harder than the first. We forget why we are still hanging around for another year - to renew relationships. It means intentionality. It means being renewed from my self-centered mind to an other-centered mindset. It means forgiving like the Father has forgiven me. It means seeking reconciliation with last year's "enemies", or, as the new year's countdown did, looking back over the past decade. How many "relationship that needs reconciliation" have piled up over that time. 2020 has a ring to it. As we ring in the new year, may there be joyful bells of reconciled relationships.
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