“Year 2024 has arrived.  Many of us tend to make resolutions, promises, set goals, and proclaim this will be the year we will strongly commit to following through to the end of the year.  And within a few weeks of the New Year, we give up and make excuses and forge forward without attaining our goals,” says guest writer Cassandra Portee

Giving up on our goals may seem like no big deal.  We have the thought of saying there is always the New Year, and again, we go through the same process of proclaiming our true commitment for the upcoming year. 

There is a commitment God has commanded us to follow through with.  Jesus commissioned His disciples to go through all the world and make disciples of all nations, and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  We are to do the work of the Father while we are here on this earth.  We have a task to do, and there will be others who will follow in our footsteps to carry on the work God has commissioned us to do.  The world will not last forever, but eternity has no end.  Within 2024, let’s make a point to be about the Father’s business.  Everyday opens the door for new opportunities to share God’s Word. 

You may say you are not qualified to do the work God has for you to do.  You may feel it is just a waste of time because no one is going to listen to what you have to say.  Do not worry.  God has equipped you with the tools you need to carry out His mission.  He has promised to always be with you, and He will guide your steps to higher ground where you can deliver His message to your community, family, friends, strangers, and the world.

Let’s understand this world will not last forever.  Life will not last forever on this side of eternity.  What you do for Jesus with your life is all that matters.  Jesus did not ask His disciples if they wanted to go and be His witnesses in the world. What difference will you make in doing what He has commanded?  We all were put here for a purpose.  Yes, it is all right to do the things we want to do for the world that will be temporary, but let us not forget we also have a duty to work for the Kingdom of God that will last for eternity.

There is a song my chorus performed for our school’s dedication by Lady Antebellum titled, “I Was Here.”  There is a message I wanted my students to learn.  I wanted them to know they too can have a great impact in the world.  As Christians, we can have the same impact.  As the lyrics say.