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By James Quansah
MOST CHRISTIAN believers around the world organised special watch night services on Saturday, December 31, 2022 to herald 2023. In Ghana, most churches organised what they called Crossover Services.
But it is difficult to understand exactly what the believers had to cross over that night? Certainly, it was neither a bridge nor a river they needed to cross over, but a mere change of one year to another. It was just a change of a date or a number.
And since January 1, 2023, people have been celebrating the New Year with fireworks. But have you asked yourself what a New Year is or what makes a year new? A New Year is simply a new period of 12 months or 365 or sometimes 366 days.
In fact, a New Year is nothing, but a change of a number or date or an upward review of a date, according to the Gregorian calendar. This means man, not God, changed 2022 to 2023.
And what is the difference between December 31, 2022 and January 1, 2023? Clearly, you can see that the only difference between them has to do with the differences of the dates.
Again, which change has 2023 brought you after being led to ‘cross over’ to it? Understand that just as it was in 2022, in 2023 also the days, weeks and months would be the same; they will never be new.
The seasons, the sunshine and the moonlight will remain the same. Birth and death will remain; sowing and reaping will continue. It is also likely that most situations in people’s lives will continue in the so-called New Year.
Of course, dates on many products on the market may change. Number plates on vehicles will also change in the New Year. Other things may change as pre-determined by God.
What then can make a year new? A nation or an individual can make a year new by their own new decisions and activities. We make a year new by new decisions we make or new principles, practices, strategies or SMART objectives we adopt to achieve new results.
So, now, what was there or what was it to cross over? Do we not cross over mere numbers every day, week, month and year? That is why life continues as it is after every 31st December watch night service.
James Quansah is the Executive Director of Christ-Conscious Leadership Centre (CLC) and lead Pastor of End-Time Christ’s Commissioners (ECC), Kumasi, Ghana. James is also a journalist by profession. He is married with four children.
