But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
~ 2 Cor 3:18
The very concept of New Year’s resolutions belies our society’s complete misunderstanding of how people change. No wonder that each year so many people make resolutions in January, struggle through February, and fail by March.
The problem with most resolutions is that they rest on a foundation of sand. Personal improvement, weight loss, health, or other motivations are certainly not wrong, but they do not contain the necessary power to produce lasting change.
Instead, these motivations provide short term impetus but wane over time, leaving a person falling back into old habits and ways of living.
Simply put, the person you are on December 31 is the same person you’ll be on February 1, regardless of how much you want to change.
But there is one very real way to change—one source of power so great that it changes everyone who accesses it! It is the glory of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that those who behold the glory of the Lord Jesus are transformed (‘metamorphosed’) into the same image of glory by degrees.
True change isn’t something we resolve to do. True change is a byproduct of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, as we see Him more clearly, and enjoy His beauty. This causes us to slowly shift away from sinful things that bring no joy, and shift toward Him—the great Source of all joy! As a result, we have the power to fight gluttony, selfishness, laziness, and the like, not through our resolve, but through His beauty.
And so, the one resolution to rule them all is quite simple, really. If we resolve to enjoy Christ more deeply by beholding the beauty and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith in the Gospel, we will change this year! We will be transformed by His power, and He will receive the glory for that change!
