On Faith: Get the new year going on the right foot

While we are now halfway into the month of January, we still don’t seem to be immune from the pressures the coming of the new year has brought into our lives, namely that of new year’s resolutions. Most of us are familiar with these, the commitments and pledges that we make at the beginning of the year stating, “This year will be better!”

Most of us have made these at one point or another in our lives. They’re usually not life altering, but something simple and something good, as we commit to things like losing weight, working out more, resting more, spending more time with our families, or maybe even something like stopping our swearing or eating out less.

But truth be told, as push comes to shove and our lives become more hectic, many of these resolutions quickly slide to the back burner and end up being forgotten. In fact, most statistics tell us that by the middle of January, 75 percent of all new year’s resolutions have been dumped and left for dead until another year begins.

And so rather than encouraging you to start up and drop yet another resolution for this new year, I would like to offer you an invitation: an invitation to attend church, and if you already do, to keep on attending.

I know that as a pastor, I’m supposed to say things like, “try coming to church.” But I truly believe that participating in a community of Christian faith is a good thing, and here are some reasons why.

Community

We’re told in Genesis 2 that when God created Adam, He recognized immediately that it was not good for humanity to be alone. God created us to be people of relationship, and one great place for us to be in relationship with each other is in church.

The Bible tells us that church is a place where we can be in relationship with one another and sharpen each other as we improve ourselves (Proverbs 27:17), that it can be a place where we can love and care for each other (John 15). Quite simply, church is a place where God walks with His people (Matthew 18:20).

It’s good to be fed

It’s no secret that our society has become more depressed and overwhelmed with feelings of desperation and anxiety than ever before. This is truly ironic, as we live in a society that has achieved greater prosperity than ever before in history. And while there are still those among us who live without, feelings of desperation and depression aren’t limited to just those who experience poverty.

In John 6:35, Jesus tells us, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Church is a place where all of God’s people are offered hope, peace, and comfort which can be found in Christ Jesus.

Rest

It’s no surprise that many of us today go through life feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. After a while we can feel alone and isolated in our exhaustion. But Jesus encourages us to never bear our burdens alone. Jesus is the one who offers us rest in His gifts and in the promise of everlasting life.

It is Jesus who says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Because Jesus is the way

There are a lot of ways we can try to achieve satisfaction and contentment in our lives, but often they don’t last. It was Jesus who instructed His disciples in John 14:6 shortly before His arrest and eventual execution on Good Friday and Resurrection on Easter Sunday that, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

God’s Church is a place where we can experience purpose, forgiveness, love and care. Church is a place where we can be part of a community and serve and care for those around us.

As we are still very fresh into this new year, I know that there is a Christian congregation here in the greater Cloquet community that would be honored to care for you. I pray that you might consider joining them.

Writer Matt Kohl is the pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Cloquet.