On holes and resolutions

I have never written New Year’s resolutions. I take that back; I did so once or twice way back in school when my writing themes were dictated by those in educational authority and their motivational grades. The resolutions didn’t mean anything, though, and I never even attempted to follow them. I don’t plan to break my anti-resolution tradition. I know myself well enough to know that if it isn’t something I’ve had the motivation to do in the past, I’m probably not going to be ultra-motivated to start it just because the year has changed. I do, however, want to see 2011 as yet another year closer to my goal:

Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

What Francis Chan’s Crazy Love did to challenge my Christian walk in 2009, The Hole in Our Gospel has done to my 2010 and beyond. Written by Richard Stearns, former Lenox CEO and current World Vision president, it is his personal journey toward the understanding that most Christians live and work with a gaping hole in their faith. That hole is our failure to whole-heartedly and sacrificially live out Christ’s command to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Our failure is one of omission rather than commission; we find it easier to obey the don’ts while dismissing the do’s. This book has challenged me once again to be willing to give up my comfortable American status quo and to pray something like this (adapted from page 198 of The Hole in Our Gospel):

Forgive my blindness to the injustices and sins of omission committed by Christians past and present. I confess my own blindness and sins of omission as well. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, to see the world as You see it. Let my heart be broken by the things that break Your heart. Give me the ability to see through our culture and to serve and love my neighbors with Your vision, instead of the world’s. Give me Your eyes and Your heart and lead my feet and my hands to do your Kingdom work. Give me the strength and willingness necessary to sacrifice that which is comfortable and known and which I have held onto too tightly. I thank you for placing me on this earth for a purpose and look forward to seeing more of that purpose played out in the coming year. Don’t let me forget the lessons of the past as I continue on this journey of life, one step in front of the other. Amen.