Ahead of last Christmas there was an interesting debate about The Salvation Army’s drive to receive donated new toys for children. Some were questioning the policy, with a few even arguing that ‘beggars can’t be choosers’. But surely that’s a label we don’t want any New Zealand child to have to wear!
The Salvation Army pointed out that a lot of children whose families we help are well acquainted with ‘second hand’ and that a new present helps children feel included in the same experiences those in more financially secure families routinely experience. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with second-hand gifts, but we do all relish that lovely experience of unwrapping something pristine and new. Especially when we receive it as symbol of someone else’s love for us.
We’ve begun to unwrap a new year. How great if we could see the rest of this year as a gift given to us by the God who loves us!
We may have toiled under the burdens of old habits and attitudes and disappointments last year, but God gives us the chance to start again—to develop more helpful and healthy ways of thinking and acting, to seek out fresh opportunities to learn and grow, to look for ways to support and strengthen our families and communities, and to nurture hope and happiness. A new year should never be a case of ‘same-old, same-old’; it should have a freshness and excitement about it as we discover and enjoy its potential.
One of my favourite Bible passages is from Lamentations 3:22–23, which says, The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The mercy and blessings God has for us are never second-hand; they’re personalised for each of us in an unending gift of love.
Christina Tyson
Editor
2 Corinthians 5:17 J.B. Phillips New Testament ‘For if a man is in Christ he becomes a new person altogether—the past is finished and gone, everything has become fresh and new.’
2 Koriniti 5:17 ‘Ko tō tātou mamae māmā nei hoki, rangitahi kau nei, hei whakawhiwhi i a tātou kia tino nui haere rawa atu te taimaha o te korōria, he mea mau tonu …’