Good News and Bad News for the New Year

I hate to be the bearer of bad news this holiday season. The truth is, the bad news is REALLY bad. But please don’t stop reading until you get to the good news (and trust me; it’s REALLY good).

First the bad news. We live in a dark and fallen world full of suffering and pain. Every aware person knows this.

When our stars and celebrities pass into eternity, dying far too young as we’ve so often seen in recent years… Heath Ledger … James Gandofini … Robin Williams … Phillip Seymour Hoffman … the list goes on and on … we pause to notice the sadness and the pain. Yet the busyness of life and crush of responsibilities focus us quickly back to the here and now, and back to our self-focused efforts.

The reality is, we too, are on the “list.” Every person in this world has very limited time. The older I get, the more fleeting it seems.

My best friend, Bobby Boylan, who died of cancer at 34, said it this way: “Barry, don’t be sad for me. Even if you live fifty more years, this is just a blink of an eye. I’m just going home to see the Lord a little bit sooner than you.” These were the words of a wise and courageous man … a man who knew something that we all need to know about the brevity of life.

James seems to be addressing a “new year” as he speaks of the brevity of life:

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” James 4:13-14

Many choose to distract themselves from the reality of death, anesthetizing themselves with entertainment, booze, illicit sex or drugs … I once saw a bumper sticker that read: “Life sucks, and then you die.” I credit that person for at least being honest and aware. Quite honestly, there are times when I find it difficult to refute this sentiment … until I look up.

I don’t know about you, but with all the sorrow and pain all around us, as I face a new year, I crave some good news. One thing I’ve learned through the years is that for “news” to be truly good, it needs to be honest. The Bible is the most brutally honest book ever written. Jesus gave us bad news and good news in one sentence:

“In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Always honest, Jesus lets us know that during our brief time in this world, our days will be fraught with difficulty and suffering (tribulation), and true believers understand that following Jesus does not cause our lives to become immune from pain, though many phony preachers proclaim such nonsense.

God created a world that was perfect, pain-free and beautiful. We wrecked it. Sin (my sin … your sin … the collective sin and selfishness of mankind) has caused all the pain and war and suffering and darkness that exists in the world. Yes, this is very bad news. Ah, but I told you there’d be good news, and I’ve saved the best news for last:

Jesus came to save us from our sin, taking the punishment we deserved for it upon Himself on a cross. Why did He do such a thing? Because, although we are sinners (all of us) God loves us more than we can fathom. Although we deserve punishment for our sins, Jesus came not to punish or condemn us, but to save us:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge (condemn) the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17

Don’t enter a new year without eternal hope, and without freedom from sin. And don’t think you need to become “religious” to be saved. Jesus was the only truly good and sinless man who ever walked the earth. If the truth can be fully told, Jesus Himself hated false and hypocritical religion.

Jesus will never look down upon you for not being “religious” enough, even though many religious hypocrites may judge and condemn you. Pompous religion be damned! God knows your life is hard here, and He knows you are suffering because of the darkness of sin all around us. He does not ask us to try to jump through “religious” hoops to make our lives even harder. He sent us something far better. He sent us His Son.

Forget about the phonies and hypocrites who have judged and condemned you. God loves you, and you certainly don’t need to become a religious hypocrite to be saved. Salvation is as near as your own heart and mind:

“if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

How good would the good news be if we all determined to walk forward with King Jesus into this new year? I think it might look something like this:

“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19

Make this year your best yet. Walk forward with Jesus. “Religion” need not be part of it. Jesus will show you all you need to know as you follow Him. Speaking of “good news,” Jesus will fill you with purpose and with hope that will last throughout this coming year, and for all eternity.

Happy New Year

Barry Milazzo – All The King’s Horses Ministry