Thursday Read: Janus and New Beginnings

The Romans named January after Janus, their two-faced god who looked simultaneously backward and forward - guardian of doorways, beginnings, and transitions. While we don't worship Roman deities, there's wisdom in this dual perspective as a new year begins. The apostle Paul understood this tension when he wrote: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal" (Philippians 3:13-14). Notice he didn't say "ignoring" what's behind - he said "forgetting," which implies intentional release rather than denial.

The Israelites practiced a similar rhythm through their religious calendar. Passover required them to remember Egypt's bondage while celebrating freedom. The Feast of Tabernacles had them dwelling in temporary shelters to recall wilderness wandering while rejoicing in the promised land's abundance. They looked back to move forward, remembered past faithfulness to fuel present faith.

But remembering can become paralyzing when we let past failures define future possibilities. The woman caught in adultery had a past that demanded stoning according to Mosaic law. Yet Jesus told her accusers, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone" (John 8:7). When they all left, he gave her something more precious than excuses - he gave her a future: "Go now and leave your life of sin" (John 8:11). Not "go and remember your life of sin," but leave it. The past was acknowledged but not determinative.

Ecclesiastes tells us there's "a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away" (Ecclesiastes 3:6). As this year begins, what from last year deserves to be kept as wisdom and what needs to be thrown away as baggage? Which memories serve as testimony to God's faithfulness and which are just chains keeping you imprisoned to who you were instead of who you're becoming?

The danger of New Year's resolutions isn't their ambition - it's their amnesia. We make grand promises while forgetting we made identical ones twelve months ago. We declare "new year, new me" while bringing the same old heart that broke last year's commitments. Real change doesn't come from calendar flips or fresh resolve. It comes from recognizing that "if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). You're not starting this year trying to become new - you're already new in Christ, learning to live into that reality.

So today, practice Janus's wisdom without his mythology. Look back with gratitude for God's faithfulness, not regret for your failures. Look forward with hope anchored in God's character, not optimism based on your willpower. The past year taught you lessons; this year will too. But neither defines you - only God's declaration over you does. You are his beloved, and that's true on December 31st and January 1st alike.