A new year gives us a chance to look back at our lives. We can look at our choices, both good and bad, and make adjustments moving forward. I heard someone look at entering a new year like wiping the “slate” of your life clean. They saw it as a bit of a “restart.”

If each of us were to take some time and look back at the past year, what would you see? Are you the same person you were January 1st, 2015? What has changed? What is still a work in progress?

When you take time to read the Gospel of John, one of the striking features of it is the way it depicts the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The other gospels usually tell us stories about Jesus, the things He did and taught. But when we read that, we, like the disciples, are left to ask, “Who is this, that wind and sea obey him? Who is this who feeds the multitude on a couple of loaves and a few fish?”

But in the Gospel of John, there’s never a doubt who Jesus is, because He tells us. Usually He does so with a statement that begins with the words, “I am.”
Put Him in a situation and He will clarify who He is and what he Has come to do.

You can put him in the desert surrounded by people who are chronically unsatisfied, and Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).

You can put Him in the midst of people who are confused. The people may ask, “Who are you, Jesus? What makes you different from all the other gurus, rabbis, and religious leaders?” And Jesus responds with, “I am the gate for the sheep. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture” (10:7, 9). In a sense, it is an act of self-definition.

You can put Him at graveside, in the midst of grief-stricken people mourning the loss of a loved one. How does Jesus respond? He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live” (11:25).

Or put Him in the midst of people who feel disconnected by life’s difficulties. Maybe they are alone and afraid? Again Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing” (15:5).

In the Gospel of John, in one situation after another, Jesus defines Himself and says, “This is who I am….”

In the eighth chapter, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (8:12). His words echo the opening words of the Fourth Gospel, where the writer defines the person and work of Jesus in terms of light. John records: “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people … The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (1:3-4, 9).

Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” This is the kind of thing we might expect to hear in these days after Christmas. Not long ago we gathered on Christmas Eve to hear the prophet Isaiah say, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

We don’t know if Isaiah had any idea who or what he was talking about, yet we celebrate Christmas as a festival of light. We string up twinkle lights on fir trees. We string up lights both inside and outside our houses. Some burn candles in the windows and put lights on the shrubbery. We burn up the kilowatts because Jesus Christ is born. In the bleak midwinter, why not shine a little light?…

So what about today? Jesus calls us to be “light” in our dark world. How do we do that? We do it through sharing the Good News of Jesus. We do it by doing acts of love and compassion to our neighbors. We do it be living our lives with integrity dedicated to honoring God.

As we enter this New Year, what do you hope to write on the blank slate you’ve been given? Will it be filled with events where God is glorified or will it be filled with missed opportunities? My hope and prayer for all of us is for God to grant us mercy and faith to walk in obedience and for us to live lives fully dedicated to glorifying Him in our dark and needy world.