Saturday, January 1
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
—Matthew 7:7
Holy Name
Today is known as “Holy Name,” the day on which Jesus was named in the Temple. Today is also New Year’s Day, the first day of a brand-new year. It is a time when we can have a new start. All the “baggage” of the past year can be let go as we encounter a fresh, clean slate.
Every day in faith can be described that way. In Second Corinthians Paul says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Fresh starts are nothing new for the Christian. The faith teaches that we are all in need of second chances and fresh starts because we are imperfect but God loves us anyway. Unconditional love is the name of the game.
All we need to do is ask for a fresh start and it is ours. Asking is a way of telling God that we are not all that we want to be. Asking is a way of telling God that we need him. Asking is a way of asking for, and receiving, forgiveness.
God always stands ready, right near us, to embrace us with the arms of his safety. He stands ready to nurture us with his love. But he never takes us for granted. He will not force himself on us. C. S. Lewis, the great lay theologian, said that the door to Hell is locked from the inside. Sometimes in this life we find ourselves in Hell, and all we need do to get out is open the door. “…Ask and it shall be given; knock and it shall be opened unto you….”
Welcome to your fresh, new year!
Lord God, walk with me each hour of each day of this new year. Amen.
These Signposts originally appeared on explorefaith in 2007.
