You Are Not 2019

Almost. 2019 is almost over. Breathing a sigh of relief?

It’s finally going to be over. The year that almost killed you. The year that dragged you through so much mud. Just a few more days, and you can finally start over.

Or… not.

I’m sorry, but it’s not that easy.

The new year won’t actually give you a new start. Whatever mess you’re in? It’ll be just as messy on January 1st. Whatever addictions you have today will remain with you. They don’t turn off when they look at the calendar. Your relationships don’t “reset” when midnight hits.

Terrified?

Are you going to be stuck in 2019 forever? Maybe not the year, sure, but are you doomed to live in the shadows of what you’ve done this year? Is that all you are? Are you what you did this last year?

Maybe it’s not 2019. Maybe it’s something older that’s haunted you for a long, long time. Are you what you did in high school? Are you what you did in college? Are you just failed relationships and dumb, dumb mistakes?

Man. I wish at the new year everything reset. Can you imagine how glorious it would be to look around and say, “Nope, that doesn’t count anymore!” Credit card debt? Gone. It belonged to 2019. It’s 2020 now. Destroyed relationship? Well, now we get to start over. I destroyed it in 2019. Now it’s 2020! Ruined my job? Gotta give it back. I ruined it in 2019. Take a look at the calendar. All new!

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Well, the world won’t reset when your phone says, “January 1.” But I do have good news for you:

You are not 2019.

You are not what you did in 2019. You are not what you did in high school or college or anything else. What you have done does not define you.

There is a moment in time that does define you. That day didn’t happen in 2019, though. It’s around 30 A. D. And on that day, everything you did in 2019 was wiped clean. Everything you did in high school or college, every dumb mistake and regrettable decision you’ve ever made, gone. On that day, as the Son of God died on the cross, he gave you a new start.

There’s another moment in time that defines you. I can’t tell you that date, but I can tell you what happened. You were given a new start when someone poured water over you and said, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” On that day, God gave you a new heart. A heart that is reborn every morning.

“Your mercies are new every morning.” (Lamentations 3:23)

Every morning.

Doesn’t matter if it’s 2019 or 2020. Your last year was wiped clean millennia ago. And you were wiped clean when you were baptized.

So sure. 2020 doesn’t give you a new start. But you’re not defined by 2019 either. You get a new start every day because of what Jesus did two thousand years ago. You’re linked to it by the day you were baptized.

You’re defined by what God has given you: a new you, defined by Jesus.