The Constant Christ

Have you seen those memes that say something like, “We survived 2019,” or “Can we all just agree that [insert year, usually the one just ending] was the worst?” If those images have popped up in your news feed on social media, you also probably don’t have to scroll much further to find friends posting about how 2019 was their best, happiest, or most successful year yet. The juxtaposition of such polar opposite sentiments is enough to make us reflect on the inherent subjectivity of much of our lives. Was 2019 the best year or the worst year? Well, it depends on whom you talk to. 

It’s not just 2019 either. Every single year for the past few years at least, I can recall “[insert year] was brutal” comments and “[insert year] was incredible” ones. Even historians argue over whether a year was “good” or “bad,” whether a president was the best of the 20th century or the worst, whether social movements were effective or not, and so on. For some the past year was one full of loss, grief, anxiety, and struggle. For others it was full of excitement, happiness, peace, and ease. So when we reflect on a year, as we are so often prone to do when a new year—or new decade!—rolls around, there are a few things we should keep in mind. 

For one, we should be careful that our self-reflection does not become self-centeredness. It can be easy, when thinking over everything we’ve experienced in the past year and the ways it has shaped us, to project that onto everyone else and assume that their year was the same as ours. Even for those who went through the same events as us, they may have been affected by them differently. So it’s good to keep in mind that a year is not defined by our estimation of the quality of our personal experiences. 

This realization should cause us to be humble in our interactions with others, not expecting them to have the same feelings about the previous year as we do. We shouldn’t begrudge them if they weep while we are laughing or laugh while we are weeping. Instead we should seek to be empathetic and should ourselves rejoice or weep with others (Romans 12:15). It also should cause us to hold our evaluations of the past year lightly, recognizing that we are not the ultimate authority on reality. 

For some, this subjectivity is not comforting in the least. Those, like me, who can tend to be overly analytical find it sending them into a mental tailspin where they lose track of what it is they can actually hold on to with certainty. “Well I had a good year, but so-and-so didn’t, so maybe my year wasn’t so good after all…how do I even know? Does it even matter?” So if we can’t define any given year, if we can’t objectively say that it was inherently good or bad, then what can we do with it? How and where do we find the meaning we so desperately crave? 

The good news is that there is Someone who does define reality, Someone who can look at a year from a vantage point that no one else can, Someone who can pronounce goodness or its opposite with complete objectivity. His Name is Jesus Christ. Because He is the Creator, Author, and Definer of reality itself, we can take our subjective perspective of our experiences and examine it in light of what God tells us in His Word, there to find meaning and understanding. 

We can also take comfort in the knowledge that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8, ESV). This means that whether our year was happy or sad, whether it was full of joyful elation or crushing heartbreak, He is still Himself. Everything that He provides for us out of Himself is still available to us regardless of what kind of year we have had, are having, or will have—His presence, His peace, His forgiveness, His grace, His righteousness, His mercy, His love. None of it depletes; none of it wavers; none of it runs away and hides; none of it becomes diluted; none of it fails. Jesus Christ always IS. He always will be what He has always been. 

So as we enter this new decade, looking backward and looking ahead, we can sink the anchors of our souls into the Truth that is Jesus. We can look to Him to help make sense of our past year and to give us confidence, peace, and strength walking into the present one—because in addition to revealing that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He has also promised that “He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8, ESV). We have a constant Christ. Let’s rest in that through whatever 2020 may bring.