By Stuart Powell
The broader American culture is shifting away from any semblance of respect for God. The American church faces the added challenge of our faith becoming a source of friction within the culture. Many institutions within society are even challenging people of faith to compromise their convictions. And to our dismay, violence seems to be creeping into both our neighborhoods and our congregations. Moreover, when we look within ourselves, we are also discouraged. We find times when our physical strength is diminished and our health is no longer stable. We know the ultimate end for our bodies in this world, so we struggle to find purpose in our growing limitations and suffering. As we look around and within, it is easy for dismay to grow.
Is there some place in our lives where we can find hope growing? Paul shared an encouraging insight when he wrote, “Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, New English Translation).
The one place where Christians should be growing in hope is within their faith. There the Holy Spirit connects us to springs of living water that do not have a source in the broken world around us.
Faith allows us to see newness in every sunrise and each starry night. We celebrate God’s grace every day. We discover rest in his peace and joy in his promises. He renews our souls in preparation for what’s to come. As the future grows darker, people are tempted to lose heart; but as Christians we regularly partake in a reminder of God’s sovereignty, the loaf and the cup of Communion. These emblems are monuments to God’s eternal power to transform the worst of sinful humanity into a path of redemption. Our flesh recoils at the thought of Jesus’ crucifixion because of the horrible details. Yet it is only when we embrace that death that we discover God’s pathway from dismay to renewal. Jesus’ physical body was beaten and crucified to pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus’ innocent blood was poured out to wash us clean from our rebellion. We have no other source of hope but these.
As you partake today, give thanks for God’s invisible and eternal gift of salvation.
Stuart Powell lives outside of Terre Haute, Indiana, where he serves with the North Side Christian Church.
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