Some inspiration for daily life

By Right Reverend Brian Castle
Bishop of Tonbridge

Sunset over Leeds Castle Greatwater

Are you looking forward to the new year - or are you dreading it? If 2009 has been a good year, then we can look forward having had a good experience. But if 2009 has been a difficult year, we may not look forward to 2010, fearful of what may be around the corner. There may be concerns about our jobs, our health - or that of a loved one - or even concerns about our relationships.

When facing an uncertain future, people often look to the past for reassurance.

When we are anxious about the present, it is not uncommon to look to the past. That's fine - as long as we don't stay in the past, finding ourselves stuck there, making it an excuse not to move on.

The Christian faith looks to the past as a means of helping us live in the present and move forward to the future.

A few days ago, we were celebrating Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago. But the purpose of the celebration is to remind us that God continues to love and want to be involved with men and women today as he was all that time ago.

The purpose of looking back is to help us live in the present and move forward to the future. The past is a launch-pad.

There is a wonderful story in the Bible of Jesus attending a wedding celebration with his mother and his disciples. The wedding organisers didn't do very well because they had not ordered sufficient wine for the party. When it looked as though disaster was about to strike, Jesus was able to turn water into wine and saved the day - I love the idea that Jesus' first miracle was to make sure that people could enjoy themselves.

What was also amazing was that the wine that Jesus produced was of such excellent quality that the steward of the feast said, 'Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.' Through this miracle the Gospel writer is telling us that, as far as God is concerned, the best is yet to come. Things can only get better.

It doesn't mean that there won't be difficulties in life; it doesn't mean that we won't face disappointments and loss; it doesn't mean that bits of us won't work as easily or as well as they used to, but what it does mean is that there are worlds within and around ourselves that we have yet to discover and with God's help and encouragement, we will be the richer and livelier as a result. 'The best is yet to come' is the promise of the Christian Gospel.

Whatever the new year brings, I hope and pray that God may bless it for you. For one of your new year resolutions, each morning say thank you for somebody who is or who has been important in your life. And remember, with God's help and encouragement, the best is yet to come. Happy new year.