Hope and Joy

Christmas has a theme in our house that is too obvious to miss - "hope and joy". When Christmas rolls around, we fill our house with different decorations that have the words hope and joy in them and we love collecting new pieces. But the problem with a theme is that we can forget the meaning behind it and become focused on the theme itself.

Scripture often combines hope and joy, as in Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. " Peter writes about the how we have been born into a living hope that allows us to rejoice in trials because of our unfading, undefiled inheritance. Then Peter says "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1Pet 1:8-9) Paul also writes about the unseen nature of hope in Romans 8:24-25 where it says "For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."

Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians about their trials and describes the amazing paradox of Christian living. "We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything." (2 Cor 6:8b-10) This amazing paradox is made true because of Paul's previous statement, "for we walk by faith, not by sight" (vs 7) and we know from Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."  We are called to a focus of hope and joy on what we cannot see but we know to be our ultimate truth.

With my Nana’s cancer, I have been considering the gift of sight and trying to empathize with her inability to see clearly. On a glorious day, like it is today, I look around outside and wonder what it looks like through her eyes. More than the cancer itself, her distorted vision has been the greatest concern to her in many ways, because it defines so much of day to day life. The same is true for us all. What we see defines much of our day to day life. And yet scripture tells us to be defined not by what we see, but what we know to be true about God and His promises. We look to our Savior, unseen by our eyes, but indwelling our hearts, to properly navigate the daily struggles of living in a fallen world.

In the 1960’s, Stan Lee created a superhero named Daredevil. He was blinded by coming in contact with a radioactive substance, but his other senses were enhanced, with the greatest benefit to his sense of balance. It is such an interesting concept, that eliminating a key component of sight, he uses other resources that actually give him a better sense of balance than he would have as a normal person. While Stan Lee is no theologian, there is a powerful link to scriptural truth here.

God calls us to live by faith, not sight. Things hoped for, not seen, because our balance comes from knowing the truth of who God is, not from our circumstances around us. His truth keeps us from being tossed about when persecution and suffering come our way. His truth silences the lies in our hearts and minds that would cause us to despair. His truth gives us the vision of eternity to look to, instead of the distorted reality this world offers. My Nana is being called to rely on the truth of who God is and His light, in this suffering which causes her eyes to fail her. All of us who walk beside her in this time are called to not let our sight (or our fears or doubts or anything else) distract us from the Truth, Jesus Christ.

We are sorrowful, yet rejoicing. We have nothing, yet possess everything. We live the paradox of dying mortal shells with our eternity secure. Our hope and joy do not come from an ornament or decoration; a feeling or a song; and they certainly do not come from our circumstances. Our hope and joy come from God – not only at Christmas, but always.

Here is our truth: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10) May this truth be our hope and joy.

Shadowlands

I walked out of my front door this morning to go to my car and drive to the hospital to sit with Nana. Day 3 of this most recent hospital stay, I paused just long enough to see the beauty of the quiet stillness of early day. The birds were singing their song, the squirrels were actively running around on the ground and chasing each other through trees, and the sky, though brightening for a new day, still contained the last few stars hanging in the sky. All of nature rejoiced for the Sabbath, a new dawn, another day given to them by God. Yet I was off to a dark interior hospital room, where days and time were noted by calendars and clocks, completely cut off from the the beauty of creation.
God made the world and proclaimed it good. We are told how creation itself sings to the Lord and how the heavens proclaim the glory of God. He is the God over wind and waves and time itself bends to His will. His power knows no end. These things are true. But inside this little room, truth can seem clouded by the darkness.
Have you ever noticed how we just expect wedding days to be bright and sunny? Or birthdays to have a sweet breeze? There is something inside of us, as part of Gods creation, that knows that all was made to be good.
I have often wondered, although the rain is needed for things to grow, in the new creation, will there still be thunderstorms, or will it be the sprinkling of rain that just begs to be danced in? Will the sun still be blazing hot or just simply radiant? Will the wind blow so hard that tree limbs fall or will we just have the gentle breeze, carrying the sweet scent of the flower blossoms?
I've realized that every day we are actually living in these dark rooms, separated from true beauty, even when we are standing outside in the morning sun. The highest peak on the brightest day still pales in comparison to the true Mount Zion where Christ reigns on His throne.
But praise be to God! We are not captives to this darkness. Instead, we live in the shadowlands.
These days of beauty call us to rejoice in our Creator and His masterful work in Creation. And these days in the dark rooms call us to remember that everything we see is a shadow of what is to come. Once again, my mind is acutely aware of the "no longer, but not yet" existence we walk. But we do not walk alone. More than the cloud by day and pillar by night the Israelites followed in the wilderness, we have the true flame, the Holy Spirit, dwelling inside of us, leading us to an eternal promise land.
The darkness is gone, the promise is sure, and the love of God penetrates this dark hospital room just as brightly as the dawn ushers in the new day. The lingering shadow may try to weigh down my heart and my family in these uncertain times, but truth remains. A shadow can only exist when the sun is shining. In total darkness, there are no shadows. And a shadow changes form depending on the angle of the sun. It has no true substance. The truth is the light and The Light of the world has already cast out the darkness. If my eyes look simply at the shadows, truth can seem distorted and darkness seems ever present. But if I look at The Light, the shadow flees and only Truth remains.
Oh master of shadows, all you have is smoke and mirrors trying to distract us. Your day is done, the battle is won, and your darkness will surround you for eternity, while we bask in the Light of the Lord.