A new year MOT

The Moderator urges readers to refocus and cast off all that is unworthy at the beginning of a new year.

EVERY car driver knows the anxiety of an MOT – is the car fit for the road and if not what will it cost to make it roadworthy? There is a similar thing happens when we put our cars in for a service – what might they find that could end up costing me either more than I anticipated or more than I can afford? Is there an MOT for life? I have often thought that an honest reading of Colossians 3:1-17 provides a challenging look at our lives to examine what should be in and what ought to be out of our lives in order to make us worthy followers of Jesus. The second part reads:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Now, I believe that takes some reading – and re-reading, with a lot of honest and submissive prayer. This is the passage that I turn to at the beginning of every year and see it as my annual MOT/service. I let the Spirit of God search me to establish where I am in relation to God and other people.

Paul first of all describes uniquely who we are – people who have died to an old life and are raised in Christ to a new life – at the beginning of a New Year it is good to simply get that focus or refocus – how gloriously unique we are in Jesus and what an honour it is to call ourselves the Lord’s People.

Then Paul asks us to be brutal – to put to death all of those things that are unworthy of our calling. There is another image – put off these things like putting off old clothing or rags when there is something far better to clothe ourselves with – this he so eloquently describes in verses 12-14.

Now, like all New Year’s resolutions, this is hard work. What we read on the page is attractive – just like resolutions to cut down eating, being “kinder” to certain people, stopping a bad habit – all good until they are challenged by either people or circumstance.

However, the promise is that we are not alone. God’s great gift, the Holy Spirit, is there for all of us as we recognise the wise words of Jesus that without Him we can do nothing. Yet conversely, think of what we can do with His help!

As I begin my year with this Spiritual MOT my prayer is that God will enable me to be what Paul speaks of here and to do so with consistency, grace and love.

The Rt Rev Dr Iain Greeshields is Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2022-2023 and is minister at Dunfermline: St Margaret’s.