All Glory Be to Christ
On New Year’s Day at Bowman we sang All Glory Be to Christ, which begins with:
“Should nothing of our efforts stand, No legacy survive,
Unless the Lord does raise the house, In vain its builders strive.
To you who boast tomorrow’s gain, Tell me, what is your life?
A mist, it vanishes at dawn,
All glory be to Christ.”
How at odds with the message our culture repeats with gusto every new year?! It seems everyone is convinced and is obsessed with convincing you that you just need better work-outs for your bod, better storage solutions for your clutter, better books for your brain and you — you alone — will be able to transform 2023 into a year of satisfaction.
There is certainly something to be said for the natural inclination of man’s heart to thirst for newness of life. Scripture reminds us over and over again that this earthly home is but a decaying shell of the heavenly home we’re made for.
“But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:13
“For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.” Isaiah 65:17
And so we understand that the mantra, “New year, new you!” is likely rooted in a legitimate thirst for things to be put right.
The problem though is that newness of life cannot be found by reaching my full, earthly potential, because my full earthly potential is but a decaying shell of who I am called to be.
If I succeed in all my earthly endeavors and reach December with every goal achieved, but do not seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, then I will have strived in vain for that which I ultimately cannot keep.
I am not promised a productive year, but I have a promise for every day of this year that is far better:
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
We have everything we need for 2023: a faithful God who has promised his mercy for all our successes and failure; his mercies are what will ultimately allow us to remain steadfast as we await the new and better Eden.
With that in mind, we can venture onward with the words of our New Year’s anthem confidently on our lips:
“All glory be to Christ our King,
All glory be to Christ.
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing,
All glory be to Christ”
“Should nothing of our efforts stand, No legacy survive,
Unless the Lord does raise the house, In vain its builders strive.
To you who boast tomorrow’s gain, Tell me, what is your life?
A mist, it vanishes at dawn,
All glory be to Christ.”
How at odds with the message our culture repeats with gusto every new year?! It seems everyone is convinced and is obsessed with convincing you that you just need better work-outs for your bod, better storage solutions for your clutter, better books for your brain and you — you alone — will be able to transform 2023 into a year of satisfaction.
There is certainly something to be said for the natural inclination of man’s heart to thirst for newness of life. Scripture reminds us over and over again that this earthly home is but a decaying shell of the heavenly home we’re made for.
“But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:13
“For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.” Isaiah 65:17
And so we understand that the mantra, “New year, new you!” is likely rooted in a legitimate thirst for things to be put right.
The problem though is that newness of life cannot be found by reaching my full, earthly potential, because my full earthly potential is but a decaying shell of who I am called to be.
If I succeed in all my earthly endeavors and reach December with every goal achieved, but do not seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, then I will have strived in vain for that which I ultimately cannot keep.
I am not promised a productive year, but I have a promise for every day of this year that is far better:
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
We have everything we need for 2023: a faithful God who has promised his mercy for all our successes and failure; his mercies are what will ultimately allow us to remain steadfast as we await the new and better Eden.
With that in mind, we can venture onward with the words of our New Year’s anthem confidently on our lips:
“All glory be to Christ our King,
All glory be to Christ.
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing,
All glory be to Christ”
2 Comments
So good!
Thank you Chloe. You said it so well!