It’s now a new month and a new year. Those who suffered through struggles in 2024 may say, “Good riddance! I didn’t think this year would ever end.” They anticipate some positive changes in this year.

To others, the new year may bring new challenges, uncertainties, increased fear and anxieties. Their kids are growing up and heading off to college. Their parents are aging and needing more care. Facing the new means letting go of the old. For some, that is a difficult transition.

When life is comfortable and all seems well, we think: “why does anything have to change?” When life is uncomfortable and nothing seems to be going well, we think: “when are these things ever going to change?”

Are you looking for a beginning or an ending?

The truth is, the name of the month or the number on the calendar year neither mark the beginning nor the end. They are merely names and numbers. There are much deeper, more meaningful markers of beginnings and endings. Our faith, our view of life, our trust in God are the real determining factors of how we approach beginnings and endings.

II Corinthians 5:17 reads, “…anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (NLT). We can have a new beginning, a new life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. In John 3:3-5, when talking with Nicodemus, Jesus himself referred to it as being “born again” or being “born of the Spirit.” It is that moment when we confess our sins to Him, repent of those sins, and accept His substitutionary death on the cross for our sins. It has nothing to do with names of months or dates of years. It has everything to do with faith in Christ, trust in His Word, and acceptance of His forgiveness for our sins.

When we come to that point in our lives, it is both the beginning and the end. It is the beginning of a new life and a new way of living, and it is the ending of the old. The old way of thinking, the old way of acting, and the old way of problem-solving have all been replaced with the new. The new is a life of faith, filled with His grace, resulting in His peace. Whether 2024 was a good year or a bad year or just another year, through Christ, we can begin again and live this new life to its fullest.

One of my life verses is John 10:10, which reads: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (NIV). This coming year, be “born of the Spirit” and begin to truly live life to the full.

Rev. James R. Pentz, assistant pastor, New Covenant Assembly of God, 1270 Pinchtown Road, Montgomery