I have been writing columns for the Mountaineer for around 11 years. At different times, these articles have dealt with marriage, family, spirituality, depression, other mental health issues, and a plethora of other topics. Every year over New Year’s, I find myself reflecting on what to write that will help folks who are making resolutions. I’ve talked about S.M.A.R.T. goals, given tips for consistency, and other bits of advice to help readers of the Mountaineer with simple, life change advice. This year, while reflecting on the topic, I had a moment of clarity. Resolutions are statistically aimed at improving health, weight loss, quitting a vice, spending time with family, reading more, being more generous, etc. These are all aimed becoming more like an ideal version of yourself. The thing is, we often don’t consider who/what that ideal person is. We just sort of know that they are kind, self-controlled, knowledgeable/wise, or whatever else. I recently came to a conclusion as to why that is the case.
While listening to a lecture on CS Lewis’s life I encountered something I had never heard from him before. One of his early struggles with belief (one that helped him remain, at that point of his life, an atheist) was the notion that every culture that ever existed had a belief in God and strived for morality. He reasoned that if everyone believed in a god and morality, then he could see no reason that any of them was correct. Eventually, he realized that the inclination of mankind to hunger toward some sort of relationship with their creator and to strive toward a personal moral standard was because we all have that tendency built-in to us automatically. From there, he reasoned that this must have been a product of the actual existence of God, who designed us to be in relationship with him. The inclination to seek him out is a design feature, not a bug or defect. From there, Lewis examined the life of Jesus and concluded that from a historical standpoint, he had to logically conclude that Jesus was who he said he was.
You might be wondering what this has to do with New Years Resolutions or aiming at the “idealized” version of ourselves. The idea is simple: we were made to know and be in relationship with God, but sin has messed up the world and made that impossible to accomplish under our own power. This is why God came as a man, to make a way for us to know him. That man, Jesus, was God. He demonstrates for us the perfect version of what we are meant to be. How we talk, pray, work, have relationships, and everything else is embodied in Jesus. The vague “ideal” version of who we are meant to be when we talk about being more wise/learned, loving, family oriented, etc. is Jesus. I’ve set New Year’s goals for myself for years, trying to read more or accomplish something cool. In the end, all I was doing was picking an aspect of what I perceive to be good about Jesus and trying to make it a part of my life. The vast majority of resolutions boil down to this simple idea. We want to be more like what God made us to be.
This year, my approach to the topic of resolutions will be different and ask that you consider the same perspective. I will ask, “How can I be more like Jesus?” In doing so, any progress or improvement I see will be an eternal investment. I will store up treasures in heaven, rather than trying pile up things in this world. To accomplish this, you need only read Jesus in his own words and those of his students. The New Testament is about the same number of words as a major newspaper’s Sunday sports section. It can be understood with a simple reading, but will reveal new truth every time you work through it.
There are those who will read this and think: “What a hypocrite! I know him, he is sinful in these ways (insert examples… there are a ton of character shortfalls in my life!)” My answer is: “Yes. That’s exactly what I am saying.” I am imperfect, but trying to be like Jesus. I won’t compare myself to others and say whether I am better or worse than them. I will compare myself to Jesus and know I am worse, but that he loved me enough to die for my sins and imperfections anyway. Then I will strive to be like Jesus. In the next couple weeks, I will offer suggestions as to how to strive toward this impossibly large, lifelong goal. It’s a whole-life commitment, but will change your life and afterlife.
