Romans 15 cont'd
Even the most powerful man of all, Jesus Christ, didn't use his power to create for himself a pain-free and pleasure-filled earthly life. As scripture says, "I have personally identified with and embraced the rejection they have shown you O God." All the scriptures have been written to impart knowledge, patience and comfort to us so that we can live in hope- a confident expectation of a glorious future.
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So, continuing on diagnosing the pattern of how we form deeper subterranean problems and a "false self" that is beset with negative strongholds....
Why is it that it is so difficult to displace the "clenched fist in our gut" of self-protection with the "golden goal" of "vulnerably trusting God" or "getting to know God better"? Is it not simply because God is the One who gave us the longings for intimacy and impact and then placed us in the environment of a broken world in which he knew that these longings would be significantly undermined and remain unsatisfied (though not fully so)? We have a subtle and profound controversy with God that is challenging to settle on a deep heart level. It's hard for many of us to admit, because it seems so irreligious. Yet, how can we realistically trust him on a gut level when we have doubts about his goodness? We instinctively don't trust anyone we don't believe is good. This was the original temptation offered by the serpent to Eve and Adam in the garden..."God is not good...he cannot be trusted...take your destiny into your own hands."
So we are in a bind that we desperately need to address. We must somehow become reconciled to the pain of the sufferings that God has, at least, allowed to come our way in the course of life. We must make peace with the reality that no human being on earth will meet our deepest need for intimacy...not the best parent, the closest friend or the most faithful mate. We must face the fact that we live in a world in which not everything is going well and nothing is going perfectly. And...that it never will until we are in the very presence of and face to face with Christ. We must learn to navigate in cultures in which there will always be obstacles that hinder us from freely making the impact we long to make and achieving the purposes we long to fulfill.
Yes, only God himself can possibly meet our deepest yearnings for intimacy and impact...and he will...but even then, he requires us to wait for another age for their full satisfaction. (Though surely, he does provide tokens and a down payment on their reality by "being with us" here and now by his Spirit. Moreover, he uses blessed people in this world as instruments of his love in our lives. He also showers us with many simple joys and blessings of life.) Self-protection seems reasonable, but tragically, it blocks us from receiving the generous love that God has to give us (and that he desires to flow through us to others) even in this fallen world. Experiencing and passing on his love is the very reason for our existence on the planet! It is the essence of the only thing that really matters in our lives. And...unfortunately or not...it is simply incompatible with the goal of self-protection!
Somehow we must discover that the inevitable pains and sufferings of living in this age have a redemptive purpose. This is what Jesus and the apostles say to us over and over again in the gospels and epistles in so many ways. Yes, yes, yes...God is good. Do you believe it...do I? Do I...really?
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 2 Cor 4:16-17
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4
Life in this world can be extremely hard, but God is still good. (Thankfully, there is also much of God's beauty still to behold as it is reflected in this world...so we should drink it in whenever we can and wherever we discover it!) It's not the end of the story and the scriptures have been written to impart to us "knowledge", "patience" and "comfort", by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we can "live in hope". This is what all those Bible stories point to...what all the letters instruct us about.
Over-zealous revivalists often lead us to think that an unprecedented move of God across the globe will negate and transcend our need for "low level" virtues like "patience" and "comfort" and "hope"...but they are badly mistaken and they always leave many well-intentioned believers disillusioned along the roadways of life after the human zeal subsides. But God is full of his own zeal and his intentions for our lives, both now and in the age to come, will not be deterred if we put our trust in him.
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