Dear First Pres,
Life and death, this is the reality we live in. Just since the beginning of October, as a congregation, we have celebrated the birth of a healthy child and grieved the death of three saints. When we consider our extended families there have been more births and more deaths. Life and death, sickness and health, celebrations and laments, joys and sorrows … this is our reality. And so, as Romans 12:15 says, we “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”
Our tendency is to try to ignore the sorrows. We’d much rather avoid the painful things of life. But all that does is create a false sense of security. Or, even worse, an idolatry of health or wealth or success or positivity.
This past Sunday, I tried to communicate something in my sermon that I don’t think was clear. When our sense of security is in anything other than King Jesus, we’ve also created a false Gospel, even if it includes Jesus. So, if our identity and security is in Jesus and a happy marriage, or Jesus and good health, or Jesus and financial stability, or Jesus and vocational success, or Jesus and anything, we set ourselves up for disappointment. Be careful, Beloved, that you don’t put your faith in a shallow Gospel, one that is only true if things are going well for you and yours.
The true Gospel is the story of God the Son stepping right into our mess. It’s the story of Jesus weeping at the death of Lazarus and at the brokenness of Jerusalem. It’s the story of Jesus bringing evil into the light. It’s the story of Jesus listening to the woman who bled, touching the man with leprosy, and offering living water to the Samaritan woman. It’s the story of Jesus humbly and confidently entering into the difficult places and situations and circumstances of His day. And, it’s the story of Jesus, fully human and fully divine, being the suffering servant for our salvation.
Yes, we live in a world that is full of life and death, but we worship the One who stepped into that reality to rescue us from this present evil age. He submitted himself to death, but then He was resurrected from the dead by the word of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit to initiate an entirely new reality – a reality not disembodied or disconnected from the current reality of brokenness and ruin, but a reality of redemption and restoration, a reality described in Revelation 21:4 where there is “no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” Hallelujah!
In Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we experience glimpses of that Kingdom come, but we also know that it has not come in full. We still live in a world of life and death. But the Kingdom is coming. Nothing will stand in its way. And as we wait for that day of fullness and glory, we have the touch, the presence, the love, and the hope of Jesus through the Holy Spirit at work in and through us, His people.
So, as we rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, we do so with the strength and hope of Jesus. Beloved, no matter what today or this season holds for you, may you know the strength and hope of Jesus through the empowering presence of His Spirit.
Blessings,
Pastor Jeremy
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