COVID. Political and family division. War. Natural disasters. Death. Destruction. Shootings. Isolation. Inflation. Grief, sadness, anger, and loss. Disappointment in God. We all are facing difficulties this year, and the holidays can boost the stress we’re experiencing.
Tucked away in the middle of a tiny pastoral letter we find a passage that is rich in wisdom and replete in hope. These verses begin with a statement of the past, share encouragement for us in the present, and close with hope for what is to come. In meditating on this passage, I was drawn to the truth of God’s grace in the form of Jesus Christ, His instruction that we can all depend on in our present day, and the glorious Hope of His second coming.
The nations gather before the throne of God, a court assembled to debate the case: who is the one true God, capable of steering history and bringing salvation to His people? (Isaiah 41)
The nations of the world have nothing to say. They are as mute as their idols and false gods, powerless to determine the course of history and shape their fate on the face of God’s good earth.
When the apostle Paul opens his first letter to Timothy, he introduces himself and establishes his authority by asserting that both God and Christ Jesus are the source of his apostleship. God, he says, is “our Savior” and Jesus is “our hope.” God initiated a saving work through the birth, death, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ. This same Jesus would fulfill His Father’s saving work in “his personal and glorious coming” (John Stott).
I grew up hearing the saying that “repetition is the mother of learning,” and it appears people really believed it. When my mom wanted us to learn how to keep our closets clean and in order, she would make us fold our clothes neatly every time things got messy in there. When my teachers wanted us to really know something, they would make us memorize sentences and sometimes entire paragraphs and recite them out loud. I can tell you now as an adult, the repetition worked! I can’t stand a cluttered closet and when I read something that I find important, I write it down and memorize it.
John, the longest living of the twelve apostles, spent years thinking about the person and work of his dearest friend, Jesus. At the request of Jesus from the cross, John took Jesus’ mother, Mary, into “his own household.” (John 19:27)
Have you ever forgotten what God can do?
What about not believing what was possible?
When an angel of the Lord told the priest, Zechariah, that he and his wife would have a child in their old age, Zechariah didn’t believe him. As a result, Zechariah lost his ability to speak until the fulfillment of the angel’s words.
I was the first person to see my firstborn son. Having waited six years for him, my wife and I had begun to think we would never be parents. I can’t say that we lost hope – hope in the goodness of God, hope in His plan, even hope in some path we didn’t expect to be on. But we had lost hope in having our own biological children. And then … there he was! All of the pain, disappointment, confusion, and heart ache just disappeared. Our long-awaited child had arrived and with Him, hope.
