當我們想到新年新希望時，腦海中可能會浮現一長串難以實現的遠大目標。其實，有80%的新年目標到二月中就已被放棄了。作家艾咪．威爾森（Amy Wilson）提出一個更好的建議，就是要摒棄必須先改變自己，生活才能變得更好的這種想法。威爾森建議，在新的一年，與其增加更多承諾和目標，不如將之視為一個減少負擔的機會。對於那些大量消耗我們的時間和精力，卻沒有真正回報的承諾，我們要開始說「不」，進而保留更多時間與空間給真正重要的事。

在這個常常要我們做更多、追求更好的世界裡，我們很容易忽略耶穌要我們過的一種截然不同的生活節奏，那就是住在祂裡面。在約翰福音15章，耶穌將自己比喻為「真葡萄樹」（1節），而門徒就是「枝子」（5節）。

「枝子」要成長，不是靠自己更加努力，而是要透過葡萄樹供給的養分。同樣地，我們期盼自己的生命有所成長，也要放棄依賴自己，住在耶穌裡，從祂那裡得到滋養。正如耶穌說：「離了我，你們就不能做什麼。」（5節）

藉著耶穌，我們可以期待生活中能少一點焦慮，少一點忙碌；更多地安歇在上帝的慈愛裡，並將這份愛傳遞給我們周遭的人（12、17節）。

When we think about New Year’s resolutions, what probably comes to mind is a list of lofty ambitions we rarely achieve (80 percent of New Year’s resolutions are already abandoned by mid-February). Author Amy Wilson suggests a better idea might be to reject entirely “the idea that we have to fix ourselves before our lives can get better.” Wilson suggests that, instead of adding commitments, we see the new year as an opportunity to do less, to finally “start saying no” to some of the “oversized and ongoing commitments that take our time and energy without giving us much in return.”

In a world of constant pressure to do and be more, it can be easy to miss the radically different rhythm of life Jesus invited His disciples into—one of abiding in Him. In John 15, Jesus described Himself as “the true vine” (v. 1) and His disciples as “the branches” (v. 5).

Vine branches don’t grow through working harder but through the nourishment received from the vine. So, too, the growth we long for can only be experienced when we let go of self-reliance in exchange for resting in and finding nourishment in Christ, for “apart from [Him] you can do nothing” (v. 5).

Through Jesus, we have hope for a life of less anxiety. Less striving. And more resting in God’s love and letting it flow to those around us (vv. 12, 17).