I welcome you to the New Year, 2026. It is remarkable that we survived 2025; many of us do not even know how we managed to do so. Some may think it was because they were smart, careful, or strong. Yet the truth remains: many who were smarter, stronger, and more talented than we are did not survive 2025.
Many people began last year with joy and confidence, but their lives declined early, midyear, or toward the end. The one thing common to all of them is this: they are gone. Their addresses have changed. Their residences are now in notable yards where they were granted a six-by-six-foot portion of land, marked by inscriptions called epitaphs.
Recently, I visited a cemetery for the burial of a friend. There, I noticed different markers that have replaced what once were addresses and ZIP codes. Some bore only names and years lived on earth. A few listed achievements are recorded on this side of eternity. Painfully, the ages varied; some lived beyond seven decades, while others did not reach three.
Regardless of achievements or the lack thereof, one reality united them all: the same six-by-six-foot accommodation. They were silent, not troubling one another. They did not insult or abuse each other. They showed no envy or rage, nor did they call one another unprintable names. They appeared kind and gentle, not because they had become virtuous, but because the power to act otherwise had been taken from them. They could neither help nor harm one another; they were completely helpless.
Some of them once had the power to imprison others. Some had wealth and influence to mock and ridicule. But those days are gone, never to return. Their present dwelling harbors no sin: no sexual immorality or debauchery; no idolatry or witchcraft; no hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, or orgies. The one who produced these works has finished his assignment in their life and now awaits judgment.
However, among those who did not survive 2025 are many who entered a far better city, a city where death no longer has dominion. Death was immediately conquered by their faith in Jesus Christ. This assurance is testified by the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 1:9-10, who reminds us that grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
As we, the living, celebrate the joy of 2026 here on earth, they experience unceasing celebration in the presence of the Lord through Jesus Christ.
Having survived another year, humanity typically responds in one of three ways at the beginning of a new year.
1. Indifference
Some adopt a nonchalant attitude toward life: “As it has always been, so it shall be.” They see no reason to change. Consumed by wickedness, they continue seeking their next target to exploit or destroy. This is not surprising. Scripture reminds us that we are born into sin. Paul declares, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). David adds, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). Again, “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies” (Psalm 58:3). Solomon concludes, “There is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). Humanity, therefore, remains helpless under sin until death interrupts the cycle.
2. Resolution
The second group makes New Year’s resolutions. They are often remorseful and sincere, determined to do better than in the previous year. This desire to change is admirable. However, it is also a painful illusion to believe that human effort alone can overcome sin. Many start well, but within weeks, or even days, they return to old habits. Why? Because sin is ingrained in human nature. True transformation requires something supernatural, nothing less than a miracle.
3. Repentance
The third and final response is repentance, the blunt and liberating truth. Repentance is sincere remorse for sin, a change of mind that results in a change of direction. It occurs when we acknowledge our sinfulness, turn away from sin, and turn toward God. In Christianity, repentance begins with the recognition that we cannot save ourselves.
John declares, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8–9).
Over more than four decades of walking with Christ, I have witnessed lives transformed simply through sincere prayer and total submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ. I cannot explain it beyond this truth; I experienced it myself. Once a drunkard in my early high school years, I was changed without external intervention. By confessing Jesus Christ, submitting to Him, fellowshipping with believers, reading Scripture, and praying, my life was transformed.
Today, I need no other resolution, only the resolve to remain with Jesus Christ. Ask me or ask someone with my type of experience, today, do not trust your resolutions; they did not work last year, they certainly will not this year.
Michael Jolayemi is the Author of:
- Saving America: The war we can’t ignore
- Sheltered Through the Storm: The Travails and Ultimate Triumph of the Church
- The Mysteries of God, the Origin We Don’t Know, the Eternity We Should Believe
- Watch out for his next book – Defying Death – How to Live and Not Die
