Posts
It is not darkness where we move, for God is Light. It
is not loneliness, for Christ is with us. It is also not unknown territory, for
Christ is already there.[1]
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about
those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.[2]
Why would we ever doubt? Why
would we ever be afraid? If Christ is already in our future, if he is present
in the dark where we think we should fear, if he is always with us in every
situation. . . how can we be so ineffective as disciples?
We live our lives as though
Christ is not risen, as though we would have to face our gloomy days without
hope, and as though the sun would never rise and displace the darkness that
seems to surround us. Hebrews 11 is the great chapter of the heroes of the Old
Testament. We would long to travel in the company of people who were so strong
in their faith. However, that chapter leads into the thought that we are the
ones they envy. They look at us as the possessors of the great mysteries of the
faith which they longed to see but never fully realized. The twelfth chapter
claims we are now center stage and these Old Testament heroes look upon our
journey and ask, “What will they do with this great treasure that we never
saw?”
At times it seems the answer
is, “Little!” We live as if it has not happened. We talk about the obstacles
before us and forget the Savior that stands with us. We continue to fear the
dark. We continue to feel like Elijah and claim, “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too!”[3]
Jesus Christ has not deserted
you. He has not left you to battle your doubts and fears alone. He does not
leave you to an uncertain future. No, he leads you and me towards a future that
is bright with hope. It is bright with hope because it is bright with his
presence. It is hopeful because he is already there. We question and doubt
because we listen to the words of Satan when he tells us we are too weak, too
few, too incompetent to handle such an awesome task as taking the Good News of
Jesus Christ to a lost world.
What we have just read tells
us that he is so wrong. May we accept Christ’s leadership for us into the
future of bright hope and love.
Pastor Craig
No comments:
Post a Comment