2016 is now behind us. Some are breathing a sigh of relief as they shut that door. 2017 is unwritten ahead of us. It is a blank slate. What will it be like? No one knows. But you have the power to help make it one of great joy and peace.
Francis of Assisi lived and worked in the church during the 13th century. He wrote a prayer that is ageless, and one I wish each of us would lift and live by.
He wrote:
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy."
“O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.
“For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
What would this year be like if you allowed yourself to live in this way? What if wherever there was injustice, pain, anguish or despair you entered that situation bearing the love, justice, grace and comfort of God?
What if you thought more of the needs and comfort of others more than you thought of your own?
If you wish to have a full and fulfilling life during 2017 — and the years ahead — it would serve you well to give your life away. As you give, you will receive. As you live for others, you gain more life. By allowing the Lord to work in you and through you, you will receive more life than you ever thought possible.
Do you doubt this? I challenge you to try.
The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: For fulfillment, give your life to others