Blog Archives
The Book of Happiness – Meditation 6: Anything
There is nothing beyond your reach! Hitch your wagon to a star, my child, and read the latest meditation from The Book of Happiness: “Anything.”
Chariots, horses, and the New Orleans Saints
Good for the New Orleans Saints. They finally won their first game of the season, leaving the Rams and the Dolphins as the only winless teams in the NFL. Unfortunately, with a dismal 1-4 record, and with the Bucs and Panthers dominating the NFC South, the Saints need nothing short of a miracle simply to make the playoffs.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. After a Cinderella season last year which saw a revitalized Saints team go 10-6 and reach the NFC championship game, the Saints were a trendy pick to reach the Super Bowl. Advertisers jumped onto the bandwagon, featuring Reggie Bush, Drew Brees, and the Saints on their commercials. Yet all the hype failed to translate onto the field. After a 41-10 thrashing by my beloved Indianapolis Colts, the Saints continued to slump, losing to Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Tennessee before finally recording a win against Seattle. The Saints lost their power running back in Deuce McAlister, while Bush has been disappointing and Brees, a minor deity here in Purdue country, has been poorly protected by his offensive line and has thrown more interceptions than any other quarterback in the league.
I remember reading several sports articles and seeing a TV segment last year which focused on the hope the Saints were bringing to the city of New Orleans. The team was supposed to inspire and encourage the city, helping it recover from the damage due to Hurricane Katrina. It was a heartwarming story, but in the back of my mind, I was always a little troubled. Wasn’t it dangerous for the people of the city to set their hopes on a football team? Shouldn’t they be turning to the Lord God instead for hope in the midst of trouble?
Sure enough, the New Orleans Saints appear to have failed their city. Perhaps they will be able to dig themselves out of their slump. But it’s clear that this inspiring story of human achievement was never going to last. Our hope cannot be placed in football teams, nor in any people or merely human abilities. They will always fail and disappoint. Rather, our hope must be set on the living God, who alone can strengthen us and provide for us an eternal home and kingdom.
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
—Psalm 20:7
Hope from the gospel
Colossians 1:3-5
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel.
Just as he does in 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul brings into play here his formula of faith, hope, and love. Here, he explains how our faith in Christ Jesus and our love for all the saints are brought about. They are motivated by the hope laid up for us in heaven-the hope that we now have because we have heard “the word of truth, the gospel” (v. 5). This precious promise of Christ is that “you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (vv. 21-22). Our hope is not merely to make it to heaven, but to stand before Christ as blameless when we get there. Because of the faithfulness of Christ, this is a hope and a guarantee. I know I need to dwell on the gospel a lot more than I do…the Spirit will use it to change my heart, building my faith in Christ Jesus and my love for fellow Christians.
He has risen
I don’t know about you, but a lot of times I find myself praying without a lot of hope. It seems like a lot of times my prayers go unanswered…I even become afraid to pray for big things, secretly worried that God won’t fulfill my requests. What a faithless attitude!
I imagine the women who went to visit Jesus’ tomb had a similar lack of faith. They had just seen Him crucified. They fully expected to show up at the tomb and find Him still dead.
What a surprise it must have been to find an angel who said, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said” (Matthew 28:5-6). This must have caught them totally off guard. Despite the fact that Jesus had said He would rise again (as the angel pointed out), the women hadn’t understood or believed a word of it.
I’m afraid to admit that sometimes, my prayers are raised to a dead God. I don’t see Jesus as alive—as He really is! I forget that He is risen and that He is at the right hand of the Father, victorious over sin and death, the firstborn from among the dead, and the righteous Judge over all the earth. The angel challenges me, “Come, see the place where he lay” (v. 6). Jesus is no longer dead. He is alive!
I thank God that He has mercy on us despite our lack of faith. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus.” The Lord said, “Seek, and you will find” (Matthew 7:7). God honors a heart that earnestly seeks Him even in weakness. Jesus says to us, “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 28:10). He knows and understands our weakness, and His mercy comes new and fresh every morning.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).
