I've always been just a little amused that the change of the number on a calendar every Jan. 1 seems to hold some kind of magical promise of "newness." Yes, Jan. 1 annually marks a new year. For at least a little while, people cling to the belief that the mere posting of a brand-new calendar on the refrigerator somehow offers a renewed reason for hope and optimism about the future. They assure themselves—maybe not completely believing it—that this year will be different than last year.

If we are realistic, the world we live in is just as sinful and just as godless on Jan. 1 as it was the day before. The headlines in the new year will be little different from those of the year just concluded. Names and places and dates may vary, but reports of violence and greed and human depravity will sound much the same. We wake up every New Year's Day in a world that is decaying and dying and feeling the effects of sin.

Not only has the dawn of a new year not changed the world, it also hasn't changed us. On Jan. 1, I look in the mirror and see the same sinful human being that I saw the day before. I struggle with the same sinful nature and the same spiritual weaknesses that cannot be willed away by resolutions and good intentions. I'm still a husband who is far from perfect, a father who has failed his children, a friend who has not always been there, a worker who has not always done his best. I struggle with the same temptations, the same worries, and the same self-centered perspective that rise from my sinful nature.

Even though we want God's church to be perfect, on Jan. 1 we still belong to a synod and to congregations that have all the faults and weaknesses that are inevitable when sinful human beings, even followers of Jesus Christ, gather together.

Sounds a little depressing after we have just wished each other, "Happy New Year!"