New Year’s Longings
How are your New Year’s Resolutions going? New Year’s Resolutions are odd things. I have to confess, though, that I have my own list of things I’m trying to commit to this year. But it’s not as though there’s anything magical about the start to a new year - as though we are more likely to change in January than at any other time of the year. Even still, these aspirational resolutions reveal quite a lot.
Often, these hopes are linked to our personal images of “the good life” … scenarios where we’re more disciplined, more in tune with God’s Word, a few pounds lighter, and better friends, parents, husbands, or wives. I’ve never met a person whose New Year’s resolutions are intentionally destructive; they’re always for the better. And, this “better” often resembles a longing for what we wish we were; it’s a response against the myriad of ways we personally experience the brokenness of the world.
Seemingly, the German word sehnsucht encapsulates this idea more fully than anything we have in the English language, for it denotes a deep frustration caused by yearnings for the unfinished or unmet ideals of life. In The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis suggests that this longing mirrors our desire to “get back in” or return to that from which we’ve been separated.
In one way or another, all of us experience deep longing. This is one of the reasons (among many) why Dr. Martin Luther King’s words resonate with us. Americans continue to celebrate his birthday because we still need to hear his voice. And we should pay attention because Dr. King’s words are often saturated with biblical images. They harken us both to God’s original intent for humanity and to a vision of the New Jerusalem. Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech still makes me tear up (and I hope it always will) because I wish my “New Year’s Resolution” (or lifetime resolution, rather) could mirror the image he creates. Simply put, we all long to be fixed.
As with the broken car example, we realize that the repair project is going to have to fit certain criteria. Whoever or whatever is going to set things straight has to know what the original was like, has to have the ability to put things back in their right place and have the capacity to ensure that the repair will last. This “Somebody” would have to have an eternal perspective and be bigger than us, because we’ve seen that our fixes are never adequate. This fits with what Socrates says, “nothing less than ourselves can satisfy us.” And, that’s exactly why we need the promised Messiah.
Redemption is Cosmic
Immediately on the heels of the Fall, God set in place a plan to fix the problem of the world. He gave hope to Adam and Eve – foretelling of the One who would come to crush Satan’s head (Gen. 3:15). Through the covenants of Scripture, we see God’s unfolding plan to repair the ruins of sinful man and the effects of sin upon the rest of the World. To the extent of the Fall’s cosmic implications, Scripture tells us that God’s redemption extends to all things. The Snake Crusher didn’t come just to restore the broken relationship between God and Man. He came to restore all of man’s relationships. He came to provide righteousness in order to make “all things new” (Rev. 21:5).
When we think about this fix the way the Bible describes it, we’re not merely describing a fix for our souls. Romans 8:23 promises “redemption of our bodies,” and Col. 1:20 tells us that Christ intends to reconcile “all things” to Him. At times, Christians can be a bit myopic, focusing on our souls whereas the Bible is clear: Jesus intends to restore everything to it’s right place. In Total Truth, Nancy Percy beautifully reminds us, “Redemption is as comprehensive as Creation and Fall. God does not save our souls while leaving our minds to function on their own. He redeems the whole person. Conversion is meant to give new direction to our thoughts, emotions, wills and habits.” Certainly, Redemption should excite us.
I don’t have many people in my life who have talked about trying new things or making goals for this year. Whether or not they have vocalized or put into plan some kind of Resolution for the New Year, I still imagine that they hope the New Year brings about change for the better. These kinds of longings are just “in us.” We think it about the New Year; our kids think it when they start a new school year; we think it when we start a new job or move to a new city. These hopes reveal something core to our beings; we know things should be better, and we really hope this new whatever will be it.
As we all know, the problem with putting such weighty longings and hopes there is that the reality of the year, academic calendar, or job can’t possibly bear that kind of burden. Yet, these longings reveal an important aspect of what it means to be human: we need hope; we need progress; we’re hard-wired to believe that there is something better. Thankfully, Jesus came into the world to provide all these, and He’s big enough to bear the collective burden that comes with it all. In fact, only an infinite One could bear the infinite weight of these hopes. But, because Jesus is the Maker of all things visible and invisible, this burden is actually light to Him. That’s why he says in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” We need a Savior who can look at our needs, burdens, and longings and say, “I can carry this, and to me, it’s light. Come to me.”
Even if I get everything I hope for this year, I still won’t feel fulfilled, because there’s no amount of weight loss, reading, or piano-playing (some of my goals) that can fix me. It won’t bring me rest - at least not rest for my soul. That’s what we most need, and it’s what Jesus offers. It’s also a reminder of what to do with our longings; we should embrace our hopes and desires, not avoid them. It’s not bad to have them; actually, it’s good. For, they serve to remind us that we were made for something more, and this recognition should become part of our daily liturgy. We need to take constant pause, to reflect upon our desires, and pray that our desires can bend us toward the One we desire and need above all else.
