And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:11

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 7, 2018): 1 Corinthians 6

Once again, it seems that every year is the “worst year ever.” I recently read a blog post with summed up the last few years like this:

            2012 – Average

            2013 – Bad

            2014 – Really Bad!

            2015 – Horrible!

            2016 – Really Horrible (Things got 30 times worse)!

            2017 – WORST YEAR EVER

            2018 – I don’t know yet.

I love the comment on 2018, however, if the trend that this person sees holds, things don’t look good for 2018. (Be afraid, be very afraid.)

Of course, there are a lot of years that that can lay claim to the “worst year ever.” 1939 and 1914 have to get some consideration as the years that began the two “Wars to End All Wars” (which somehow didn’t end all wars.) But there are others. 1346 saw the beginning of the peak of the Black Death in Eurasia. By the end of the plague, over half of Europe’s total population had died, so 1346, and really all the years between 1346 and 1353, should receive some consideration for the “worst year ever” award. 1943 was the deadliest year for the Holocaust and Hitler’s attempt to find racial purity in Europe. In North America, some have argued for 1812, the year that the United States declared war on Canada. The declaration of war was actually against Britain, Canada wasn’t a country yet, but the British were too absorbed with fighting against the French and left Canada to defend itself. Canada did protect itself, eventually burning down the White House on August 24, 1814. The United States expected to take Canada without much effort, but instead, the war produced dark days on the North American Continent. The list of bad years just might be endless, with many contenders, and maybe, 2018 will join the list.

The problem with lists is just that – they are lists. And we can make grand lists. Biblically, we often misunderstand them. Paul is great at making lists, but he makes them with a point. Lists in Paul’s writings are always the great equalizers. He often seems to make his lists as long and wide as he can, trying to encompass all of human behavior, containing something with which we can all identify. And then he brings the point home. In Romans 1 and 2, Paul’s list culminates with the words “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22-24). In 1 Corinthians 6, it is with the words, “and that is who some of you were.” The emphasis is past tense. Now you are something else because of Jesus. No matter how bad your list might have been, you have been washed and set aside for God. The list doesn’t matter anymore; you can know that you are really forgiven.

We are now a week into 2018, and I don’t know how good or bad the year is, so far, for you. But this I do know. This year doesn’t matter. You do. You have been washed and set aside for God so that good is possible even in the worst of years. We are the ones who are sent into the year in the name of Jesus, not because we are perfect, but because we are forgiven. And even the worst year ever cannot stand up to the best that God has to offer.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 7