This New Year's Day, we start afresh, remembering that we are a new creation in Christ.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

What does it mean to be a 'new creation' in Christ?

We have been reconciled to God, and we are equipped with the ministry of reconciliation to bring the Gospel to others.
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)

We are now righteous in God's eyes by Jesus' name; God doesn't count our sins against us anymore.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

We are no longer content with fulfilling the desires of the flesh; instead, we long for the new Heaven and Earth, for only in reunion with God will we be fully satisfied.
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Corinthians 5:1-4)

And what does the new world look like? It will have God dwelling with His people (Revelation 21:3), not bound within a physical temple but woven right into the DNA of the city (v22). It will be shining (v11, 23), wealthy and precious (v18-21). Absolutely beautiful and glorious that every individual will give up his or her own glory to be given to God of this city (v24). And there will be 'no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away' (v4). Behold, He will make everything new and perfect! (v5) And it will be absolutely beautiful.

We can't wait.

So we live with eternity written on our hearts. We long to be with the Lord and live in confidence that one day, we will (2 Corinthians 5:8). We strive to please God (v9). We persuade others of the future that awaits those that God saves (v11). All this we do because we no longer regard anyone from a worldly point of view (v16), but one premised on eternity; one that prizes the eternal salvation of others above all other earthly happiness that one could gain.

Every New Year's Day points us to the day when God will make all things new once and for all. He will press the reset button once and for all. We will begin afresh once and for all. And we will begin in Him.

The world is filled with broken people, but as Leonard Cohen said, perhaps that's how the light gets in - through the cracks. Through these imperfect and plain old jars of clay, His love shines through us. When I am blessed enough to receive the love and care of others, through the way they place the welfare of others above themselves, I can't help but be turned towards the love of the Lord and give praise. I adore You, Lord, for Your beautiful and selfless love, which I am blessed enough to receive as a gift on the cross and then again and again throughout my life. Thank You, forever and ever.

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The universe is at Your feet
Gives You praise evermore
The stars will light the sky for You
Always, God be praised
And we sing, "The Lord is on high, the Lord is on high"

I adore You, I adore You
And there's none that compares to Your majesty O Lord
I adore You, I adore You
And I stand in wonder of Your love

We will crown You king forever
Living Saviour, Jesus Redeemer
Lord of Heaven, robed in majesty
Crowned in glory, creation adores You

Holy Holy, God almighty
And forever the Lord is exalted
Hear the angels shout His anthem
Ever-living God we adore You

- I Adore You, Hillsong United

The most damning critique: you get what you deserve.

Only You can save us from ourselves.

Written on a bus winding through city roads, and in a quiet room overlooking city lights, by a brain dead roasted by work:

Live life in reverse: ride against the sunset, look out the window and pretend to face the glow of sunrise. As you collapse into the fatigue of night, somewhere else around the world a new day breaks and you get a chance to start again, no matter where you are standing right now. Somewhere else around the world someone has dipped the stained watercolour brush back into the water jar and is swirling it clean, getting ready to paint over the skies to start a brand new day. Somewhere else around the world, you are just about to embark on a whole new chance to start again. The night may not erase memories of days past, but it tends to desaturate them one tone at a time, blur the edges, until one day history dissolves into the grand infinite scheme of things into a near-nothingness that hovers above the waters like a mist, brushing against our skin but barely recognisable. The past will dissolve not into complete nothingness, but a mystery of a presence, an enigma that lingers and then goes. That's where the shackles of the past slowly break away, chain by chain, descending into the silence of the navy seas. You then push your head above the water, break through the weight of the meniscus and emerge free, gasping for the morning air. There it is: sunrise on the other end of the world, dawn of a new day.

Live life in reverse: because you can only put the pieces together when you have seen them. You can only retrace the steps you have taken and see how they have led you out of the forest, out of the dark as you stumble into sunrise, into the light at the end of a long, winding tunnel. You can only draw a map after you've travelled the road and climbed the rocks and waded across the streams. You can only see that scars heal after you have put them on, bandage them and grit your teeth through the sores and itches of wounds knitting themselves closed. Pain is a hard memory to keep at a distance, but keep looking back at it anyway, because there's a reason why they're called "growing pains". You're breaking through your old shell, breaking the ceilings and growing in strength and capacity. If you're growing bigger in heart and soul and strength, how can you stay within the constraints of your old skeleton? Look back, look at how far you've come, and straighten your back now to stand tall and proud. Let the shadow fall behind you as you face the dawn of a new day. Give thanks and praise for the guidance you have received along the way. Give thanks for hindsight, the lens that adds a new dimension to all experiences past. Sometimes it's a tint, sometimes it's a magnifying glass, sometimes it's a clean lens; whatever it is, it's nice to see that you have survived, you have emerged, you have grown, and that in some ways you have become stronger and braver and better than before. This jungle called life, it sure nurses growth within its foliage.

I was thinking about it and realised that if I had to characterise my work life thus far with one story, it would be this one:

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Only God can turn shortage into abundance, shortcomings into strength, imperfection into grace. It is not mine to glory, but His alone.