Wednesday, November 14, 2012

THE STRONG REASON TO HOPE

It remains a paradox to me that so much of God's work among us is paradoxical.

We are strong when we are weak.  We are alive when we die to ourselves.  The way to gain is to give away.  The longest tenure of permanent remembering is to consume weekly...the bread.

God refuses to fit into our equational pattern of rules and regulations.

So what would you guess to be a strong reason to hope among us on this day?

Sin.

Sheer and deep awareness of our own sin is reason to have profound hope.

Of course one asks, Why?

Until we are aware of our indecent and wretched sin, we operate in the kingdom full of judgment toward others and full of pseudo-grace toward ourselves.  Until we hit raw wretchedness about self, we will operate upon sundry self-control and will-power means; but not with Jesus.    Until we hit ruined we will behave as children arguing in the sandbox.

When we become aware of our own personal sin, we are so God-informed of our devastation we become desperate for a Savior....the one Jesus.  Until then, we will get by on our own, thank you.

The strong reason to hope is found when the flesh would assume there is no more hope.  It is then that we are forced to look away from independence to the One who took our sin and guilt upon himself and handed us the keys to renewed mobility.

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