In
Singapore, the Chinese New Year season’s social and business dinners often
begin with a dish consisting of salads, dressings, pickles, and raw fish. The
name of the dish, Yu Sheng, is a pun that sounds like “year of
prosperity.” It is traditional for those present to toss the salad together. As
they do, certain phrases are repeated to bring about good fortune.
Our words
may express our hopes for others for the year ahead, but they can’t bring about
good fortune. The important issue is—what does God want to see in us in the
coming year?
In his
letter to the Philippians, Paul expressed his desire and prayer that their love
“may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment” (1:9). The
church had been a great tower of support for him (v.7), yet he urged them to
continue to grow to love others. Paul wasn’t talking about intellectual knowledge
but knowledge of God. Love for others starts with a closer relationship with
Him. With a fuller knowledge of God, we can then discern between right and
wrong.
Giving
our best wishes to others for the coming year is fine. But our heartfelt prayer
should be that we abound in love, so that we may be “filled with the fruits of
righteousness . . . , to the glory and praise of God” (v.11).
People
with a heart for God have a heart for people. (RBC)
