Looking Forward
By Joyce Wachsmuth--
Doug and I were given these two ornaments for Christmas, one with Santa Claus wearing a mask and the other with us using masks with hand sanitizer and toilet paper next to us! We chuckled when we received them, because it did represent 2020!
As I sit down this morning thinking about what to write in this blog, I thought about several things. If you were writing the blog this week, what would you write about? First of all, I think you would want a message that encourages us to follow Jesus and be more like him. Would it be a message on looking forward? Isn’t that what we usually do as we anticipate the new year…look forward?
What are you looking forward to in 2021? Your first response may be that you are looking forward to having the pandemic behind us and life back to normal. You may be one that the pandemic affected your business and you are looking forward to financial help. You may have suffered emotional and physical depression from the lockdown and more of this in 2021 does not encourage you! For some of you this question is painful because you lost a loved one (a spouse, sibling, parent, friend) and you are not able to even think about what you are looking forward to! (You may decide to just stop reading this blog!)
In the middle of writing this blog this morning my daughter, Beth called and she encouraged my heart about this question. She mentioned that she was reading the last book of John (John chapter 21) this morning, and she was impressed how Jesus encouraged his disciples to eat with him after they went fishing. He wanted to spend time with them! Here he was the resurrected Jesus and he wanted to eat with them. Jesus first response to his disciples was to be with them and to fellowship with a meal.
John 21:12-19 “Jesus said, “Breakfast is ready.” Not one of the disciples dared ask, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Master…After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Yes, Master, you know I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs." He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?, “Yes Master, you know I love you.” Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.” Then he said it a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I’m telling you the very truth now…”(Message)
If you were one of the disciples what would be your response? I think I would be like Peter, “You’ve got to know that I love you.” You asked me that question three times!
In answering that question on what you are looking forward, maybe it is not about looking forward but stopping. Stopping to practice the presence of Jesus and loving Jesus more than looking for things to change! Jesus may be asking each one of us, “Do you love me?" Maybe it is stopping and being content in the presence of your circumstances and having Jesus walk with you. Maybe it is listening to Jesus every day on how you can shepherd the people around you…your neighbor, your family and friends. My daughter Beth mentioned that she wrote in her journal…”Lord, show me the vulnerable people who are hurting around me who need my encouragement…may be a meal, a call or a prayer. Help me to look for how I can minister to others in 2021.”
I am joining my daughter’s prayer by asking Jesus to show me how I can be “Jesus-centered and others-centered in 2021." What does looking forward mean to you in 2021?
Happy New Year and see you all in 2021!