Friday, April 5, 2019

5 April 2019 - in joyful hope



But we know where he is from.
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.

We are invited once again to be cautious about our expectations of the Christ. We have good justification to expect great things: signs, wonders, and mighty deeds. But more often we learn a lesson that is not true for Christians. We learn that past performance predicts future results. And this could not be less true. We're moving from our old selves, dead, and slaves to sin, to something entirely new which eye has not seen and ear has not heard. Our old expectations relate to sin and death. We need to replace them with hope. Jesus shows us the correct attitude in himself.

Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.

Jesus endures the cross for the joy set before him (see Hebrews 12:2). In doing so we see that that there is always more to him than we know. We see the loving relationship with the Father on display. That relationship is inexhaustible and is antithetical to limited and broken expectations. Let us never limit Jesus just because our minds are locked in old ways of thinking. The way around those expectations is not to put him to the test just for proof.

With revilement and torture let us put him to the test
that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience.

Jesus wants to open our hearts to the power of his promise. It is a power that can be a stronger force in shaping our expectations for the future than our fallen nature. We need no longer be blinded by our wickedness. Jesus reveals to us the hidden counsels of God and makes visible the reward which our souls desire.

These were their thoughts, but they erred;
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they knew not the hidden counsels of God;
neither did they count on a recompense of holiness
nor discern the innocent souls' reward.

Do we have broken expectations about Jesus? The answer is simple enough. We need to turn to Jesus rather than simply our thoughts about him. We need to give him space in our lives to reveal himself and to show us the grounds we have for hope.

The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.



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