A new door opens
Hello again,
When I was a child, my dad had a tradition, on New Year’s Eve, of opening the back door to let the old year out and opening the front door to welcome the new year in. The tradition represents forgetting the bad events of the previous year and bringing good luck and prosperity in the new year.
In the religion and myth of ancient Rome, Janus was the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, doorways, and endings. January is named after this god, usually depicted as having two faces, one looking back and one looking forward.
Out with the old and in with the new doesn’t mean we forget what has happened over the past year. There needs to be time to pause and reflect so that lessons can be learned, and we can then move forward through the new door of opportunities that awaits.
None of us knows what this coming year will bring, but whatever comes let’s resolve to keep moving forward, embracing the new things God has planned for us. As the new door of 2025 opens before us let the Apostle Paul’s words ring in our ears, ‘I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 3:14 NIVUK).
My prayer is that you all have a blessed 2025 moving forward with Jesus, in the Father’s love, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Barry Robinson
About the Writer:
Barry Robinson is a Regional Pastor for Southern England, the Midlands and Wales