I’m reading my way through the 1536 edition of the Institutes as part of my morning devotions and this paragraph – one of the most sublime paragraphs I have ever read – is from the beginning of Calvin’s discussion on the Lord’s Supper. The week after New Year with everything beginning again but nothing operating at full pace can feel like lost days. These are the post-Christmas, empty cupboard and empty bank account days. The workers back in their offices but not yet being productive days. The kids still out of school but with nothing much to do days. It feels like winter should be over already but spring is weeks away. And then a paragraph like this cuts through the malaise and the grey like a shaft of concentrated sunlight.

Yes, yes, yes! See what Christ has done for us, given to us, accomplished on our behalf. What an exchange. What a Saviour.

Happy New Year indeed!