Year End Review 2017
Normally at the end of the year we have year-end appraisals at our work places - where our performance will be reviewed for the whole year. Our contribution, productivity, performance, involvement etc… will be reviewed – like wise specific smart objectives will be given for the coming year which we will have to accomplish. We will have to mention all that we have accomplished/contributed – like special tasks, meeting targets etc. This review will determine how much increment/promotion we will get – or whether we will continue in the office or will be fired.
Let us take a similar approach as we come to the end of another year - as a church & individually.
CHURCH: As the Body of Christ is present here let me ask you directly – how did the Church perform this year?
(wait for responses……)
OK – so in order to properly evaluate let us first have a benchmark so that we can properly assign the rating….
For that let us turn to the Book of Revelation – where we will find the seven churches – which at some point or the other can be compared to our present condition.
1) Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) - the church that had forsaken its first love (2:4).
2) Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) - the church that would suffer persecution (2:10).
3) Pergamum (Revelation 2:12-17) - the church that needed to repent (2:16).
4) Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29) - the church that had a false prophetess (2:20).
5) Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) - the church that had fallen asleep (3:2).
6) Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13) - the church that kept commandments & endured patiently (3:10).
7) Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) - the church with the lukewarm faith (3:16).
So let me ask you once again – reviewing NLC’s performance for the year 2017 – what rating or rather which church it can be best compared to. And let us be frank…
Most likely in 1, 5 and 7? Or somewhere between 3, 4? Or is it 2 – really?
And I really hope your answer would be 6!!!
INDIVIDUALLY: So how did you perform as an individual in 2017?
Another year has almost gone and we are on the brink of another! What kind of a year has 2017 been for you? Where would you place it on a scale of 1 – 10?
Maybe you would give 2017 8 or 9 out of 10 – in other words, it was a really good year.
It was a good year because you had success in your business, a good year at work or at school, good family relationships, and new friendships?
2017 was a year that included a lot of exciting things, new challenges, tasks completed, a great holiday.
Or maybe you rate this past year 8 out of ten compared to the previous year which was a horrible year
Or maybe you would give 2017 a 5. It was just another year, pretty much the same as any other year? Nothing very exciting happened, in fact, it was kind of dull and dreary. Just getting up, going to work, coming home, going to bed and then doing the same thing the next day and the next and the next.
Maybe 2017 deserves only 2 out of 10. That’s because it was a really dreadful year. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The year included tragedy, sickness, loss of friends, marriage problems, the kids were just impossible, even a death in your family. How would you rate this year?
Think back and check what kind of a person you were during 2017. Are there some regrets? If you were able to have some part of the year over again, how would you have behaved differently? Would you have shown more understanding, cared more, been more patient, less critical, been more supportive and helpful? As I reflect on the year that has past there are certainly things that I wish I would have done differently.
How about your relationship with God? Did that flourish and grow during 2017 or did it just hover in much the same place as it did the previous year or perhaps even went backwards. Maybe God didn’t have a big part to play in your life during this past year; somehow he just slipped into the background.
You could well ask the question: how much did my life reflect the fact that I am God's child. As an individual what was your contribution, productivity, performance, involvement etc…
As we stand on the threshold of another year, Jesus tells us a parable. It’s brief but the point is clear. (Luke 13:6-9)
God wants some fruit from you! (the owner is coming year after year – reviewing the performance…)
The owner expected some fruit to be on the tree– it was a REASONABLE REQUEST. However every time the Owner came to the tree with a REASONABLE REQUEST, the owner kept receiving a REDUNDANT REPORT - This tree had no fruit.
The thing that strikes me the most is this tree had some advantages:
The first advantage was LOCATION; the tree was planted in a vineyard - meant that the tree was protected.
The second advantage that comes to mind is the fact that the tree was PLANTED! (Not by chance or coincidence)
The Bible says, the owner kept coming to find some fruit of faithfulness, some fruit of family togetherness, some fruit of fellowship, some fruit of fasting and praying – For three years – that’s a total of 36 months, 156 weeks, 1095 days, 26,280 hours, and 4,73,040 minutes. And the owner found nothing!!!
Why should that tree remain standing?
Why should it keep taking up space, using up the goodness of the soil if it’s serving no purpose?
What’s the point of having a tree that should bear fruit but does nothing?
As 2017 draws to a close He sees all too well what has happened in the past - how our relationship hasn’t always been what it could have been. He has seen the arguments, unforgiveness, pride, the lack of gratitude to your parents, no love for your children, the disconnection between you and the church and what God offers through his church.
Even then we hear the gardener saying, "Give the tree one more year." The owner wanted to chop it down but the gardener isn’t going to give up. He’s going to dig around it, turn over the soil, add some fertilizer, show it some more TLC and give it another chance! Isn’t that just typical of the Spirit of God? The soil may be brown and hard-baked, but he’s going to send rain. There’s going to be a change. The gardener is determined and he’s going to see to it!
Listen to what Jesus tell us in John 15:5,
"Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me".
The key is to be connected to Jesus. He is the one who can enable us to be what we ought to be. We need him to help our branches bear fruit. Without him, we will rate each year that passes below 5 on the 1 to 10 scale!
Jesus gives himself for us. He becomes the manure for us as he is rejected, laughed at, crucified as a criminal. On the cross, nails, thorn-spikes and spear dig into him. He waters the ground with his own blood.
The parable about the fig tree makes it quite clear that we have been unfruitful, unfaithful, yet in spite of our unfaithfulness, God is faithful.
Be sure of this: Jesus waits for us, shovel in hand, bucket of water by his side, ready to bring us into 2016. That’s a promise. Armed with that promise, we can step forward into the New Year ready to let him do the work in us that only he can do. Thanks him for his goodness in giving you, giving us, one more year!!!
Let us not disappoint our Lord in 2018. May we be fruitful!
2018 should be a year where Worship, Service, Love, Prayer and Evangelism are our priority.
