Thoughts Along The Journey

The question that seems to fuel most conversations these days is: when?

When will we be able to travel again (by plane, train or automobile)?  When will restaurants and cafes be open again?  When will life return to some semblance of normalcy?  When will we no longer have to wear a face mask?  When will we be able to hug loved ones again?

You get the idea.  “When?” is an important question and one with a multitude of possible applications to our daily lives.

However, the “when?” question can also be quite debilitating because it tends to leave us in a kind of limbo situation.  For example, not knowing when trains will start running again, we can’t make any plans to visit friends in the south of France or Italy.  All our plans are in an ‘up in the air’ phase.

The future simply seems unclear.

Then the disciple Peter reminds us that this is not the case:  “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials …” (1 Peter 3-6)

The limbo and the uncertainty can be faced by telling ourselves again of the hope (defined as that settled and sure confidence in God’s promise) we have in Christ.  Our hope is one that is alive, that has been reserved for us, and whose assurance grows day by day as we think on it. 

None of us know when we will be able to meet again for corporate worship, visit family living far away or gather with other World Team workers from around the world.  However, the when of the ‘new normal’ is not what should define us.

Rather, it is Jesus, the centre of all of life.  Focusing on Him (and the hope He gives and has reserved for us) will give us the patience, the joy, and the courage to face the constant when question without letting it ultimately define us and our hope.

Filed under: Hope, Jesus Christ, Perseverance |