Coco Calling No.271 - New Year’s Day or Christmas?
A couple of days ago, I went to sleep on my perch like I normally do. But something very strange occurred during the night. For when I woke up the next morning, my owner informed me that the year had changed. Yes, 2023 had quietly slipped away, to be replaced by 2024. I’m not sure how he knew this because everything seemed just the same to me. Our house was still standing. It was still Wintertime in the garden. And the human news on the “talking box” was just as depressing as ever.
And yet, for some inexplicable reason, my human family were all very excited about this “New Year” bringing “new things.” Hmmm. Well, my owner has recently developed Covid, so that was definitely a new thing….
Far be it for me to suggest that humans are a little “thick,” but it’s not the start of a New Year that brings new things into our lives. No, it’s our openness, our inner drive, our willpower and our raw desire that can ultimately bring about change. And hopefully that will be change for the better. And is it really just the start of a New Year that gives us that impetus for change? I think not. We’re capable of change at any point of our lives. The 1st January is not a set day to bring in the new and get rid of the old. Far from it. But you know, there is one very special day which should inspire us over and above all others. And that is Christmas Day; the day that Jesus was born here on Earth. Because His arrival changed everything for ever. And it also had the potential to change everything for the better. It demonstrated to all mankind and to the whole of creation that God had not forgotten or forsaken the world. Far from it. By sending Jesus into the world to be amongst us all, God was providing us all with an escape route from the trials, the tribulations and the finality of this life. He was offering us all the gift of Salvation. So it should really be Christmas Day that fills us all with joy and excitement because without Jesus, New Year’s Day would count for very little. So let’s put Jesus at the very heart of all of our New Year celebrations and then we won’t go far wrong!
“I wish, my brothers and sisters, that during this year you may live nearer to Christ than you have ever done before. Depend upon it, it is when we think much of Christ that we think little of ourselves, little of our troubles, and little of the doubts and fears that surround us.”
(Charles Spurgeon:[1834-1892]: English Particular Baptist Preacher, still often referred to today as ‘The Prince of Preachers.’)
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.”
