Nothing’s New Under The Sun, Everything’s New Under The Son

Woman standing sideways in the shadows of a shining sun — Man will find there’s nothing new under the sun [Picture courtesy of Pixabay]

Happy New Year! The world greets 2024 with hope and expectation. A new calendar offers the opportunity for new adventures, new relationships, and possibly even a new you. But the truth is, there’s nothing new under the sun. The only way to achieve something new has nothing to do with our efforts but those of Jesus Christ.

New Year’s Resolutions For A New You

A prime example of people embracing the new is the custom of making New Year’s resolutions. This custom is especially common in the US where some 37% of the population do it. https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/new-years-resolutions-statistics/

Making a resolution provides a goal for achieving something new. It may be new activities (exercising), new habits (eating healthier), or a new perspective (an attitude of gratitude). A Forbes health poll found fitness was the number one resolution made for 2024.

But making a resolution and attaining the set goal are two different things. In fact, most people making resolutions fail to achieve their objective. According to a survey by the University of Scranton, only 8% of those making resolutions achieved them. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2021/12/31/4-reasons-to-make-new-years-resolutions-even-if-you-dont-keep-them/?sh=b8e08ca66a1d. The average resolution lasts only 3.74 months. And Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day is January 17^th, just a little more than half a month into the new year. Thus, success with a New Year’s resolution would be something new to most resolution makers.

Year 2024 in white on a black background with a target for the zero — Will your New Year’s Resolutions for 2024 hit the mark? [Picture courtesy of Pixabay]

Why Do We Fail With Our Resolutions?

The bottom line for why we fail to live out our resolutions is that we are human. Humans are imperfect. They get tired, they are undisciplined, they become distracted. It’s hard to make a leopard change its spots. Human nature remains the same. https://www.gotquestions.org/nothing-new-under-the-sun.html. That’s not to say we shouldn’t attempt to do better about eating, exercising, and saving money, but we should be realistic about our human limitations.

What Does It Mean To Be New?

While the word “new” frequently appears in conversations during late December and early January about resolutions, what does the term really mean? The most common understanding of the word is that something has recently come into existence. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/new. Think of a baby that’s just been born; we call it a “newborn.” A best-selling author with a new book on the market has just released it. Newborns and new books did not previously exist.

But another definition of “new” connotes being other than the former or old. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/new. A friend who tells you he bought a “new” car doesn’t necessarily mean his current vehicle is a 2024 model. In that context, he’s talking about a vehicle which is other than the one he previously owned. Resolutions aiming to produce a “new” you are referring to this definition of “new.” You are still you, but your behavior, perspective, or activities are different than before.

Can There Be Anything New?

Past experience with resolutions clearly teaches it’s hard to achieve anything new. And the Bible supports that conclusion. Ecclesiastes 1:9 familiarly expresses that there’s nothing new under the sun: “What has been will be again, what has done will be done again….” https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes+1%3A9&version=NIV. Now that’s depressing!

But Romans 15:13 tells us God is a God of hope. And He embraces new things. In fact, He states in Revelation 21:5, “’Behold, I am making all things new.’” https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+21&version=NASB.

What’s New?

God’s been in the business of creating new things since the beginning when He created the world, including man. Sprinkled throughout the Bible are examples of His fondness for the new. In the Old Testament, Lamentations provides encouragement that God’s great love gives rise to new compassions from Him every morning. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lamentations%203&version=NIV

Try as they might, humans could never live up to the letter of God’s law. So God provided a new way for a relationship between God and man. Isaiah 43:19 indicates God was doing a new thing by “making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2043%3A18%2D20&version=NIV Jesus, of course, is that way.

And talk about new, Jesus made everyone who accepted Him new. How new? 2 Corinthians 5: 17 explains that when one becomes a believer, “…he becomes a brand-new person inside. He is not the same anymore.” You can’t get any newer than that. Everything is new under the Son! https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+5%3A17&version=TLB As a result of Jesus’ sacrifice, a new covenant exists with God, one that isn’t based on following the letter of the law. 2 Cor. 3:6 (NIV)

Sign saying "He is risen!" against the background of a blue sky and a smiling sun — Everything is new under the Son! [Picture courtesy of Pixabay]

Put Something New In Your Faith Life

Christians don’t have to wait until New Year’s to add something new to their faith life. Jesus gave us a new command. We must love one another as Jesus loved us. John 13:34 (NIV). Rather than making resolutions, believers can make a new to them list. Identify specific people or categories of people (such as cashiers, service technicians, other drivers) to whom you can show Jesus’ love in your daily life. Ask God for His help to follow this command. He wants you to succeed in obeying your new command as the new you under the Son.