Leaning Forward

Wow! Can you believe it’s 2010? It’s not that a new year has begun, but a new decade. Seems like yesterday the world was in a panic over Y2K and now we begin the year 2010. Life doesn’t stand still does it! As we usher in a new year, excuse me … a new decade, undoubtedly there will be those infamous “new years resolutions”. You know the ones I’m talking about, lose weight, join the health club, get out of debt, attend church more frequently. The list goes on and on. Why do new years resolutions almost always involve  something changing on the outside?  

For me in 2010, its not going to be about the weight, the health club, or the money saved; instead, its about the name I leave behind. It’s about the next generation. It’s about two little girls – one named Emily and the other Rachel and a little boy named Connor.   It’s about every lost, hopeless, and hurting soul that crosses my path whether its at the parish prison, the Baton Rouge Dream Center, or the line at Wal-Mart. 2010 will be about the name I leave behind!

Instead of resolutions for 2010 that reflect short term change on the outside, I’m pursuing change that is new, fresh, and intimate. The kind of change that only God can bring. In 2010, I want to create as many memories as I can with those that God has placed in my life. God has impressed upon me to live a life beyond myself. A life that points others to Christ.     

In Matthew 1, we read of the genealogy of Jesus, which if taken out of the Scriptures could be the most boring and innocuous words ever penned; yet, each name carries with it a record of who they are,  and the life they lived. The name they left behind. Matthew did not have to include this in his gospel, but he did, and I believe that he did this as a reminder to us that it matters to God how we live our lives. Some of the names mentioned were very courageous and some were very less fortunate, but they all brought something into the world  that pointed others to Jesus. They lived their lives in such a way that long after they passed, they continue to speak to us.

The truth is that we will all leave a name behind.  The name we leave behind will be left up to each individual. Leaving a name behind that reflects Jesus does not come without cost, but if we’re not willing to make that sacrifice then there will be regret. Nothing good can be built on regret, and regret is not the name we are called to leave behind.