January is a time for resolutions. People vow to exercise more, eat less, read, save, and crush their goals. Christians often add to the list more time in Bible reading, prayer, and church. And parents resolve to yell less at their kids and spend more time with them. But the results are mixed at best. Why doesn’t our resolve bring greater change? Why do we struggle to follow through? The Bible doesn’t address the topic of New Year’s resolutions directly, but it does give two formulas that explain why they often fail and how to approach them differently

2 > 1

The first formula is simple: 2 > 1. Mathematically, it’s almost as obvious as 1+1=2. Applied to life, however, the formula comes from Solomon in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. He says this:

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Independent, lone-ranger North Americans are notorious for ignoring this formula. Instead of just vowing to exercise more, why not find someone to exercise with you? Instead of just deciding to eat less or read more, why not ask someone if you can share your struggles with eating, or reading, or saving, so they can lift you up when you fall down and celebrate your successes when they come? Instead of just trying to spend more time in Bible reading, prayer, and church, why not find one or two others who can share that pursuit with you? For a Christian, those decisions are reinforced in weekly worship but made more specific and personal in regular small group fellowship and in relationships with individual Christians who can pray for you and support you. You alone with your resolutions is a recipe for failure. Look for one or two others to join you.

x – J = 0

The second formula is a little more complicated. If x represents any of the ways that you’d like to change or the things you’d like to accomplish, and J stands for Jesus, the formula says that whatever you try to do without Him results in nothing. It comes from Jesus’ words in John 15:5. That’s where He says:

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. By apart from Him, He means apart from a personal relationship with Him – a relationship where we receive His love by faith (John 15:9) and respond to that love by loving others (John 15:12) and obeying His commands (John 15:10). If that doesn’t describe your life, your connection to Jesus is the place to start.

Did Jesus really mean that we can do nothing apart from Him? Obviously, there are plenty of things that we can do. But there’s nothing of lasting significance or ultimate value that we can do without Him. We need Jesus for real change. We need an abiding relationship with Him to fuel genuine transformation.

How are these two formulas functioning in your life? Have you factored them into the resolutions that you’re trying to make? Start with Jesus and add others to your plans for the new year.

If this is new to you and you think it’s something you’d like to explore, I’ve written a free, 12-week course called The Unstuck Life that walks you through the essentials of Jesus’ teachings in daily, bite-sized messages that you can read or watch by video. To learn more, go to www.gracebc.ca/getunstuck.

In awe of Him,

Paul