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Sunday, September 5 |
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| He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12) | |||
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Our Hope
Hope, expectations, dreams and fears play a significant role in our lives. They push us forward and direct our paths in powerful and profound ways. These have been molded by our upbringing and shaped by the world around us. Our hope, expectations, dreams and fears have immense impact on our lives
What are your hopes and dreams? What do you wish was different in your life? On a more practical level, we all have expectations regarding life and people. What are the expectations you have for your life? Do you have particular expectations or hopes which are not being met? To say it another way, are you completely satisfied with yourself, with others and your circumstances? I would guess that if you are like most people the answer to this question would be "no". In fact, many of us would probably find ourselves experiencing disappointment and frustration as our expectations, hopes and dreams in this life are often unmet.
If you stop and think about it you may find that significant amount of your thinking and energy in life is wrapped around meeting yours and others expectations and striving to fulfill your hopes and dreams. There are things you wish were different, some of them "good things", which you strive to change, improve or complete in some way. You find the things around you and in your life are never completely good in their current condition and so our energies are directed towards change and improvement.
Actually, isn't this what some would say life is all about? Trying to "make the world a better place", according to what we think is "better". As Christians, these strivings would include things like leading others to Jesus and building up His kingdom. We also seek to build up our knowledge through bible study and help others by involvement in our local church in different activities. Wouldn't you agree that you have expectations for yourself and other believers as to what we should be doing? Some of your disappointment and frustration about your life may revolve around your expectations in your faith because of shortcomings you see in your life in your personal bible study, prayer, witnessing and other "disciplines". This disappointment may extend to those in your local church as you see a lack of commitment, involvement or compassion in others.
For many of us another component in our lives is fear. Fear can be tied into what we perceive are expectations of others, which we then place on ourselves. We are afraid of what others might think or what might happen to ourselves. These fears drive and control many of our actions and our perception of the world around us.
What is the common theme we see in all these matters? We see these hidden forces of hope, dreams, expectations and fear exerting great influence over our lives. Do you see this in your own life? Does it ever seem like you can't stop thinking about a particular issues in your life? Do the same things seem to come up again and again? Does it sometimes seem like it is all you can do is to keep your head above water with all the things you must do? Do you ever look at everything set before you and wonder how you will it ever get it all done or how it will be resolved?
Have you ever stopped to question your hopes, dreams, expectations and fears? Have you ever considered that your assumptions about life may be the source of your struggles? Think about it. Something is important only because of values and expectations we have in our hearts. What are the most pressing things which have been on your heart recently? Why are they important? What are the assumptions and expectations which are behind them? Are these assumptions really valid? Is it something you really need? Why? Where does it lead?
The expectations in our lives are plentiful and run deep within. We have expectations about what people should look like, how one should talk, how one should dress, who is pretty and who is not, who is too talkative and who is too quiet, how much attention we want from others, what we want from our relationships and the list goes on. These expectations drive us to judge others in arbitrary ways based on our own whims. We know it's wrong to judge, but sometimes it seems we cannot control ourselves. People don't appear or act as we "expect" or we don't get what we "expect" in our relationships. All this can lead to judgment of others or disappointment with others.
In our long term relationships with family and friends, our expectations drive us to seek our own selfish ends from others. The problem is not the just the unflattering thoughts we have of others or of self centered desires we place on others, but hearts which cling to expectations of any sort. Why do we hold onto these things? They give us a sense of power and control over others. They satisfy our sinful desires. It's our way of ordering our world and putting others "in their place". The reoccurring judgmental and selfish thoughts may trouble us, but we see no need to get to the root of the problem of our expectations as they give us purpose in our lives.
I would challenge you to consider that Christ invites us to live free of expectations and fear. He doesn't come to just help us manage these things, but to free us to live in the bountiful provision of His love and grace. He is our Hope and invites us to place all our hope in Him alone. He frees us from the tyranny of ours and others expectations and invites us to live in the freedom of His joy and peace. There is nothing to fear in Christ as He loves us more than we could ever imagine.
Lay aside all these old hopes, dreams, expectations and fears and instead cling to the only true Hope. He is our hope and treasure and everything we could ever need or want.
Our own hopes and expectations can blind us to the wonder of beauty of Christ and the incredible treasure of His love, His truth and His wisdom. I challenge you to lay the old aside and find your hope in Him alone. In His love, which is beyond measure, you will find more than you can possibly imagine.
Additional Thoughts
One could look at this writing and see it as rather simple. It has very little exposition of scripture. It seems to be a combination of a bit of psychological analysis (regarding hopes and expectations) and then a very short and simple challenge to follow Christ. One could say there doesn't seem to be significant value in what has been written. Everyone knows the answer to our problems is Jesus. Aren't there things much more profound which could be written? Maybe you have different "expectations" about what is of value, but are these really appropriate expectations?
Certainly there has been much more profound and significant writings, but what I see is believers missing the very basic and elementary matter of truly following Christ. If the fundamental things are not mastered, what is the point of looking to more profound matters? If we can't hear the voice of our Master in the basic matter of living each moment of our lives in fullness of His love and hope, what value is there in studying deeper matters of scripture? Jesus didn't come to give us knowledge; He came to give us Life. He is the Life and He is our Life. It is so vitally important for us to see this, yet I fear many of us miss out on the freeing reality of this truth.
I write an article like this because I know the matters of hopes, dreams and expectations and fears can so dominate our hearts and minds that we cannot hear His voice (not audible, but in our hearts). Our minds are so filled with the worries and cares of the world that we don't see Him clearly nor really know Him in His fullness. As the Lord has been opening my eyes more and more to knowing Him, I have seen more clearly how much my life has been driven by expectations I have for others. These expectations lead to an undercurrent of frustration and disappointment, but I didn't really see the source. Opening my eyes to these things, the Lord is revealing to me more and more how He is my provision in all things and I don't need fulfillment in receiving anything from others. I am free of expectations of others and free to love others with Christ's love with no thought or need of anything in return. What a delight and freedom to live in the fullness of His love and to be able to love others freely. This is the agape love which thinks nothing of its own, but its desire is fully and completely for others.
And so I write to challenge you to consider your own life as I know our hearts are clouded in some way from seeing and knowing the fullness of Christ. Consider your frustrations and disappointments and I would suggest that in these things God would show you how He is your complete provision. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, etc. and so we should examine carefully that which creates strife and struggles in our hearts. Don't settle for a life of struggle and frustration brought on by your own selfish expectations, but turn to Christ as your complete Hope in all things.
I shared this article in an earlier draft with a brother in the Lord. As we discussed expectations in our lives we were overwhelmed to consider how completely our lives are permeated with expectations. We have expectations about waking up in the morning, what we will have for breakfast, the place we call home, our work, the car we drive, the friends we have and the list goes on and on. To consider a life totally a completely free of expectations is an amazing thought. We would be free to live a life of faith and trust in the Lord, not looking for life to happen in a way to meet our expectations. I truly believe this is how Christ lived and this is the Lord's provision for all of His children.
November 2009
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