No CommentsThings have been a little random for me lately. I have been studying the book of John, but find myself intrigued by small sections of the narrative. I seem to get stuck and end up spending inordinate amounts of time pondering things that I am not sure matter to other people, but capture my heart.
For example; I have been reading about John the Baptizer and started thinking about why people came out to hear his messages and more importantly, decided to change and even get baptized (Jn. 1:19-34). John doesn’t tell us much about what he was saying, so I looked at the other writers to see what their accounts would say. I am not sure that I would have gone out to hear John’s message. It was not very encouraging, at least not on the surface.
But, something in the essence of what John was saying, not only caught people’s attention, it gave them hope. In Luke 3, after Luke records that John had called the people a “brood of vipers”, told them not to trust in their lineage, to give away their extra coats and to change the way they were living; Luke says, “with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.” Where is the good news in that? I must have missed something in the text. Either that, or I just don’t understand what they understood about what John was saying.
This preaching was some how good news to them. In the message of “you need to change”, apparently there was also a message of “God is present to change you and to do a new thing in your midst.” In other words, instead of just an empty challenge to change, there was hope that change was possible and that it was the beginning of something really new.
“Hope”, I have discovered, has two sides. On the one hand, I love a message of hope, a message of good news. On the other hand, I don’t really like messages of hope. Why? Because in order for hope to be hope, it means that my current reality is not what I was “hoping” for. Hope forces me to look at reality. If I am really going to experience the joy of hope, I have to first experience the pain of my reality. Hope has two sides.
I like to think of God’s of hope to all mankind, like a guy who goes to the doctor because he is not feeling well. Maybe he has not been feeling well for days on end and just can’t seem to figure it out. So, off to the doctor he goes. After a battery of tests, the doctor comes in and says, “Well, I have good news, we figured out the problem. You have a slight blockage in a couple of artery in your heart. It is not a significant problem and we can take care of it by putting a couple of stints in, and opening up those arteries. But, your lifestyle needs to change or this problem could repeat itself and could be much worse if it happens again.”
“Wow”, the guy thinks, “that is really good. I am glad it is nothing major”. Now, is this a message of hope? To the guy who has not been feeling well is this truly good news? The answer is “yes” and “no”. It is good news in that it brings to light why he has not been feeling well. It is good news in that it gives him hope of feeling better in the future. But, it is bad news in that it tells him that his life has to change or this will not solve the problem. In the message of hope, there is also a severe reality check.
Paul talks about hope as that which comes from, not just an embrace of our reality, but a willingness to hold on and never give up. “…we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame (disappoint us), because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Rom. 5:3-5 TNIV)
Wow, this is difficult! Are you sure that hope does not disappoint us?” The idea that “hope does not put us to shame” is a hard idea for me to grasp. Eugene Peterson in The Message says; “we’re never left feeling shortchanged.”
I don’t know about you, but I find life is full of times when I feel short-changed. I find that my hopes rarely get completely fulfilled and I am left with the need to hang on even longer. Hope has two sides! It keeps me looking forward with anticipation and it causes me to see the reality of the world around me.
So, what keeps us going? When even hope comes with the message, “things must change”; what keeps us holding on and moving forward? I really only have one answer. The same answer that gave hope in the hearts of people as John the Baptizer called to them from the river bank. The same answer that Paul gave to the Church in Rome as they were being challenged to hang on in the midst of suffering; “God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
The answer has always been and will always be, God’s presence. Reality is bearable, the future has hope, because God is present in all of it. Circumstances might be exactly the same, but God is present in our circumstances. This (and sometimes only this) is the message of hope.
John the Baptizer came preaching that things needed to change. He came proclaiming that change was not only necessary, it was possible. He came with a proclamation of hope; the world is hard, but God ( “His kingdom”) has come to the world.
Don’t lose hope! Don’t ever give up! Why?
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”
