I love New Year’s! It’s a time of forgetting what is behind and pressing on toward what’s ahead (Philippians 3:13 paraphrase). A time of setting new goals, starting new habits, and exploring new opportunities. Not everyone gets this excited about New Year’s resolutions, but I do. I love the whole process. By January 1, I have all my SMART goals written down in my planner (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). I read through these goals each morning, and I often review them in the evening.
With all the effort I put into planning these goals, you would think that I would be crushing it. However, the reality is that my progress looks something like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos. My old ways seem to hang on like the ten pounds that I just can’t seem to lose.
Nevertheless, a few months ago, I came across a Bible verse that has been extremely helpful when I’m not seeing the improvement I’d hoped for. Toward the end of the Bible, there is a brief letter written by one of Jesus’ closest followers. A man named John.
John begins: “Dear friends, now we are the children of God . . .” (1 John 3:2).
With these words, John is revealing our current identity even before we fulfill our New Year’s resolution. Or, probably, more accurately, after we have broken it. No matter our performance, John says we remain God’s children because of the finished work of Jesus.
Now, if you have spent any time in Christianity, you might already know that concept. But then John goes on to say something that seems unique: “ . . . and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
John says that on the Last Day, when the Lord returns, we will be like our Savior. Our bodies and souls will be transformed to be similar to the resurrected Jesus. In that glorified state, we will be able to stand in Jesus’ presence without fear or shame.
That means even if we don’t like something about ourselves in this moment, one day we will. One day we will be the kind of people we’ve always tried to become. It will be like all our New Year’s resolutions have come true, and so much more.
John goes on to make this application: “All who have this hope purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). In other words, if you can visualize your resurrected self, if this is your ultimate hope, you will begin to move in that holy and pure direction. You will begin to carry out your noblest resolutions empowered by the Holy Spirit.
I was teaching this concept to a group at my church, and one woman explained how she understood this verse: “It’s like if when you were a child, you were told that you would one day be the president of the United States. If you knew that was your future, you would act differently and start living into that identity.”
I responded, “Exactly.”
Instead of focusing so much on our current progress or lack thereof, John would have us focus on our final glorious future, when we are perfected and made holy. If that is who we will ultimately be someday, then let’s begin to walk and act in that direction.
So press on toward your goals to which Christ has called you heavenward. Don’t let your slipups and failures derail you. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Your future glorified self is secure. Visualize it. Pursue it. And long for its fulfillment.
