What value, then, can [persons] of affairs get from what [they earn]? I have observed the business that God gave [people] to be concerned with: [YHWH] brings everything to pass precisely at its time; [the LORD] also puts eternity in their mind, but without [anyone] ever guessing, from first to last, all the things that God brings to pass. Thus I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is for them is to enjoy themselves and do what is good in their lifetime; also, that whenever [anyone] does eat and drink and get enjoyment out of all [one's] wealth, it is a gift of God. (9--13)

The first eleven verses record the Preacher's reasoning process, which led to this conclusion: Thus I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is for [us] is to enjoy [our]selves and do what is good in [our] lifetime (12). With this and the Psalm's charge in mind, we should revisit our New Year's resolutions to see if they need any revision.

• O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name throughout the earth! [Psa. 8: 10]

John the Visionary takes our minds on a dizzying leap to another "New Year". More than that, really; a "New Eternity" [w]here God lives among human beings. [YHWH] will make his home among them; they will be [God's] people, and he will be their God, God-with-them. [The LORD] will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness or pain. The world of the past has gone. (3--4)

If you have ever cried, if you have ever mourned, if you have ever been in pain, then this must sound attractive to you. If you consider this to be more than just "pie in the sky" wishful thinking, then you might want to know how you can participate, how you can "get there". The Psalmist, the Preacher, the Prophets, and now Jesus, all tell you how. Listen.

Then the King will say to those on his right hand, "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me." (34--36)

Jesus, as His "Old Year" draws ever closer to its last day, becomes ever more explicit in His teaching. He tells us, in story form, that we need to take this business of making resolutions quite seriously. And the keeping, and doing, of them, even more seriously. For there certainly shall be consequences; we shall be held accountable for how we live our lives in the world. And either reward or punishment hangs in the balance; the reward of acceptance and reconciliation with the Lord, or the punishment of rejection and alienation from God. And, as much as we do not want to admit it, this definitely is "works righteousness".

I know that most of us want to reject that notion. But it seems to me that Jesus' words here are very explicit and sure about the matter. A future for all eternity awaits us, He teaches, either "in Heaven" or "in Hell". And it depends on how we treat Christ in this life and world: "In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me." (40, see 45)

"Works righteousness" is definitely the issue. But you protest that you have already been saved by Christ's work on the cross. And that is true. But that was only the first salvation, the equivalent of YHWH's deliverance of the Hebrews out of slavery "in Egypt" through the symbolic baptism of parted waters. That "work" was accomplished at God's initiative and by God's grace because, to be blunt, YHWH "felt sorry" for the people-- you and me.

That deliverance, however, did not lead into the Promised Land, but into the wilderness. And that is where we live our lives in this world, after having been saved by Jesus' death and resurrection. We are on our journey toward the Jordan; we have not yet crossed it. And, as the Exodus story symbolically teaches, not all of us will make it to the other side. There is a time of judgement waiting before us, in "the land of Moab".

It was-- is-- to believers in the Church, to Christians on their journey through the wilderness, to whom the Apostle wrote: So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were urging you through us, and in the name of Christ we appeal to you to be reconciled to God. (2Cor. 5: 20) Remember, Paul was writing to the church of God in Corinth and to all God's holy people (2Cor. 1: 1). These were Christians who have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit. (Eph. 2: 8--9) And yet, the Apostle implores: in the name of Christ we appeal to you to be reconciled to God. Our first salvation does not guarantee our ultimate reconciliation with God.

Rather, our first salvation is to an intended purpose: For our sake [God] made the sinless one a victim for sin, so that in him we might become the uprightness of God. (2Cor. 5: 21) How do we become the uprightness of God? In the words of the Preacher: do what is good in [our] lifetime. Jesus' story elaborates on another Prophet's words: this is what the LORD requires of you:

• Only to do justice
  And to love goodness,
  And to walk modestly with your God (Mic. 6: 8).

Again, our first salvation is to an intended purpose: We are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has already designated to make up our way of life. (Eph. 2: 10) God's intent for us is clear; there is a "design" for our way of life. This is an expression of God's hope for us, but it is up to us to work out [our] salvation, to do what is good in [our] lifetime. Thus said the LORD: Do what is just and right; rescue from the defrauder him who is robbed; do not wrong the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow; commit no lawless act, and do not shed the blood of the innocent in this place. (Jer. 22: 3⁽¹⁾) "In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me." For that is the way by which we shall be reconciled to God.

[S]o work out your salvation in fear and trembling. Do what is just and right;Then the King will say to [you], "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world."

Now, as to those New Year's resolutions....