In what are you putting your hope?

 

1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

               Hope is an essential component of life. When we lose hope, we fall into despair. Hopelessness is one of the most devastating experiences that a person can have.

               In are living in a time when people are desperately looking for hope. Traditionally people looked for hope from God or the gods. They looked to something or someone more powerful and more transcendent than themselves. In the main, Western culture has abandoned the idea of the transcendent. Instead, they have tried to find other things in which to placed their hope.

               Many post-modern people have placed their hope in science. They believe that all of life can be explained and rationalized through scientific exploration. But science often raises more questions than it gives answers. It can explain how things work, but not why they exist. There are major aspects of the human experience that science cannot explain.

               Many people have placed their hope in progress. Progress is the idea that if we just strive hard enough, we will expand our world and solve all of our problems. Progress is based on the idea that what is ahead of us is always going to be bigger and better. But progress has not delivered on its promises. In many ways, the pursuit of progress has caused as many problems as it has solved. The Western world has achieved a high standard of living, but often at the cost to the non-Western world. The current hot button, climate change, is a direct result of progress.

               Currently, many people are looking to politics to give them hope. They believe that if the right political party is put in place that everything else will fall in line. But as we know all too well in America, the ruling political party changes routinely, dashing some people’s hope and enlivening others.

               Another place that people look for hope is through social action. They believe that having the right social programs in place is the answer to our needs. Many of these social programs have done great things to improve the lives of many people. But again, they have fallen short of the goal. Unintentionally, some of these social programs have only increased people’s dependency and decreased their hope.

               Science, progress, politics, and social programs are all good things in their place, but they are not sufficient to provide lasting hope to people. In the end, they all disappoint us. There is only one place where we can find enduring hope. That is in faith in Jesus Christ.

               The hope we have in Jesus is not wishful thinking or pie in the sky. It is a living hope that builds the closer we get to Him. Our hope is based on what Jesus did for us on the cross. He paid the penalty for our sins so that we could be set free from sin and death. Our hope is based on the reality of the resurrection of Jesus, which validated all that Jesus had taught and claimed. Our hope is based on the promise of real justice, peace, and joy. Because Jesus transcends our world, He is not limited by the constraints of this world. As the creator of all that is, He has the right and the power to judge justly, to right every wrong. He also has the authority to forgive and redeem.

               One of the greatest aspects of the hope we have in Jesus is the reality that this life is not the entire story. When we see the world as a closed system, this life is all we have. There is nothing to look forward to or to strive for. There is really no purpose or direction in life. We just exist for our allotted time and then vanish. That is not a very hopeful perspective. But Jesus gives us a very different and more compelling story. This life is important, but it is only the gateway to eternity. How we live this life shapes us for the next. If we place our faith in the saving and redeeming work of Jesus, we can look forward to living a redeemed and transformed life in eternity. This life will be a life of experiencing pure love, joy, and peace in God’s welcoming presence. If we choose to reject Jesus’ saving and redeeming work, we will face an eternity of despair and hopelessness.

               During a time of despair and loss of hope Jesus gave hope. It took place at the death of His close friend Lazarus. As Mary and Martha grieved, Jesus offered them a hope that goes beyond the grave. Jesus said to her (Martha), "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 (NIV) Near the end of His earthly life, as Jesus was preparing His disciples for His coming death on the cross, He parted the curtain between time and eternity and gave them (and us) a glimpse of what is ahead. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14:1-4 (NIV)

               You might stop at this point and think, wait a minute, this seems to be too good to be true. How is it possible for me to enter into this eternal hope? You are not alone. One of the disciples asked the same question of Jesus. Jesus gave the answer that is the key it a hope that can withstand any challenge. Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:5-6 (NIV)

               Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all placing our hope for the future in something. It may be in politics, or success, or even our own abilities. But all worldly hopes will disappoint us. They cannot deliver the lasting hope that we are looking for. Only Jesus can give us a hope that is secure and will endure.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

THE REALITY OF FREEDOM

 

John 8:31-32 (NIV)
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

               Today, the greatest virtue is the idea of personal freedom. The mantra of today is, I am free to do whatever I want, as long as I am not hurting someone else. This idea of freedom has led to the casting off of many, if not all, of the traditional restraints that we have recognized for millennium. We have raised a generation of people who believe that they can be and do whatever they desire. We have done them a major disservice because the idea that I can be or do whatever I want is a myth.

               The reality is that freedom comes with limits. Freedom is a good thing when it is exercised within those limits. It becomes destructive when it strays outside of those limits. Tim Keller, in his book Making Sense of God, points out that to have the freedom to do some things we have to give up the freedom to do others. As an example, he points to a man who wants the freedom to eat whatever he likes and the freedom to engage with his grandchildren. The man goes to his doctor and the doctor informs him that if he doesn’t stop eating everything that he likes he is in danger of having a heart attack or a stroke. If he wants the freedom to continue to engage with his grandchildren in the future, he will have to give up the freedom to eat whatever he wants.

               In all of life, we are constantly running into limits on our freedom. Those limits are not arbitrary. They are givens that we must live within. We can acknowledge this in the physical realm. I don’t have the freedom to defy gravity by jumping off my roof and expecting to fly. It is harder for us to accept these limits when we think of moral, social, and relational limits.

               We live in a promiscuous generation. Many people want the freedom to engage sexually with multiple partners, but at what cost. Often what is sacrificed is a long-term, fulfilling marriage relationship. The more sexual partners a person has, the harder it is to commit totally to one person. We sacrifice genuine love for momentary personal pleasure.

               Jesus made a bold statement in John 8. He said that if a person lived by his rules that person would know the truth and the truth would set them free. What Jesus was saying was that God designed the world to work in a particular way. Kind of like the owner’s manual to a furnace or dishwasher. When a person lives within the limits set by God’s owner’s manual, they are free. When they choose to live outside of those limits, they sacrifice their freedom.

               Jesus made another bold statement in John 14:6. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” If we want to live a truly free life, then we need to live it in relationship with Jesus. Jesus doesn’t just reveal the truth, he is the truth. If the truth can set me free, and Jesus is the truth, then in order to be free I need to know Jesus.

               Here is the problem. Sin has entered our lives and made us captives to its desires. We think we are free when we indulge our every desire, but we are really slaves to impulses we cannot control. Like a drug addict, sin leads us to ever diminishing rewards from our so-called freedom. The things that thrilled us and gave us the feeling of freedom soon fade and must be replaced or expanded. True freedom can be experienced only when we are released from our bondage to sin.

               Again, Jesus makes it clear that true freedom comes only through the saving grace found in him. Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:34-36 (NIV)

               We all desire to live freely. We do not want to have others imposing restrictions on our freedom. This is not a bad thing, to a point. But genuine freedom comes with real limits. It is only as we live within those limits that we can find real freedom.

1 Peter 2:16 (NIV)
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

Galatians 5:13 (NIV)
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

LIVING IN THE IN-BETWEEN

 

1 Corinthians 11:26 (NIV)
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

               I like Saturdays, especially this time of the year. Saturday is filled with college football, which means excitement, anticipation, and sometimes heartbreak. In general, people look forward to Saturday as a day of rest and leisure.

               In my devotions have been reading Philip Yancey’s book The Jesus I Never Knew. Near the end of the book, he talks about Good Friday and Easter Sunday and then gives us a different perspective on the Saturday in-between. When Jesus was crucified, Saturday became a day of confusion, sorrow, and worry. The disciples didn’t understand what was going on, even though Jesus had warned them in advance. After the resurrection things began to make more sense to them, until Jesus’ ascension into heaven. At that point, the disciples entered the longest Saturday ever. A time of waiting until Jesus returned. We are still waiting.

               2000 years later we are still waiting in the time of “until he comes.” It is hard for us to wait. It is also hard to live in the in-between time of our faith. As theologians have coined it, we live in the time of the already but not yet. Already Jesus has won the victory over sin and death, but we have not yet experienced the fullness of that victory. One day Jesus will return in power and glory, as it says in the book of Revelation, and will bring an end to this endless Saturday. In the meantime, what should we expect and how should we live?

               Jesus did not leave us without some insights into life in-between. Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Matthew 24:4-8 (NIV) What Jesus described is an accurate depiction of the world we are currently living in. It would be easy to become discouraged, just as the disciples were discouraged during their long Saturday. But Jesus encourages us to look to him for courage and strength. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NIV)

               As we live in the land of in-between, we can expect that many people won’t understand our hope. But we can have confidence that Jesus has not abandoned us. Peter alerts us to what to expect. He also gives us a positive perspective. First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:3-9 (NIV)

               As we live in the land of in-between, Jesus expects us to be actively doing are part to advance his kingdom. We are to live with purpose and with hope. We know the end of the story, so we can persevere with confidence no matter what the circumstances of our world are. The disciples lived with a sense of anticipation that Jesus could return at any time. Because of that anticipation, they lived purposeful lives. We need to live with that same sense of anticipation. Jesus calls us to both look forward to his return and to be diligent in the work he has given us to do. The in-between is not a time to sit in despair or to blend into the world around us. It is a time to actively live out our faith.

Matthew 24:36 (NIV)
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Matthew 24:42 (NIV)
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”

Matthew 24:45-47 (NIV)
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.”

               To be honest, we are living in discouraging times. When I look at the political, economic, and international scene I am not encouraged. But as the writer of Hebrews says, Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV)