As our 40 Day Sabbath winds down, I want to spend more time thinking about "Hope, Health and Holiness." These are the blessings of the kingdom of God. These blessings come through spiritually empowered ministries of teaching, healing and liberation. The church that is abiding in a vital relationship with Jesus Christ is empowered to change the world.
Allow me to define briefly each of these kingdom blessings.
Hope - The result of faith in the good news that God's good purposes are at work among us.
Health - The well-being of spirit, mind and body through access to life-giving diet, shelter, community, and faith.
Holiness - A sharing, to the fullest extent, of God's righteous and loving nature.
Today, let's focus on hope.
Jesus' ministry was marked by proclaiming the gospel. He taught about the Kingdom of God (Kingdom of Heaven). His teaching gathered crowds and multitudes. Matthew said the people were astounded because, "he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." (Matthew 7:29)
The first of Jesus' parables about the Kingdom of God is the Parable of the Sower. Jesus compared the condition of one's heart, one's spiritual center, to four types of soil.
Some are like a hardened path. Perhaps life has bee tough for them and they've built up a wall of protection around their heart. Cynicism and a pessimistic outlook is an example of one way we protect ourselves. If we don't get our hopes up, we won't have to feel the pain of disappointment. Some tell themselves, "it won't work," or "life sucks and then you die," This attitude allows one to remain aloof and noncommittal. We won;t invest in making things better. We've already decided it's a waste of time. We won't join others in celebration because we've already seen enough of the life to know it's meaningless. Perhaps we've latched onto atheistic ideals which validate our feelings. "There is no God," such people say. "How can there be a God when there is so much suffering? If there is a God, then He's not a very good one."
There are other forms of self-protection, but bitterness and cynicism seem to be prevalent enough to be our example for the hardened heart. Jesus said there's no way for the good news about the kingdom of God to penetrate. Seeds scattered on the hardened path lie upon the surface. Birds come to eat the seeds and a fruitful harvest never comes to such a soul. Can there be anyone more hopeless?
The good news is that hardened paths can be cultivated. Water will moisten the soil and a spade, hoe and rake and break through the hardened surface and reach the tender soil beneath. Fertilizer might need to be added, but a dead footpath where nothing grows can become a garden of delights. All it takes is willingness to dose the heart in the waters of baptism and ask the Lord of the Harvest, so break through with the power of His word. Jesus promised that those who believe in Him will have living water in their souls welling up to eternal life. (John 7:38) By this He meant the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the living God, the presence of our creator living within us. If you are like the hardened path, repent and turn to the Master Gardener who can restore you to hope. God is with us.
Jesus said some are like rocky soil. There faith is shallow. The rocks block the seeds' roots from getting water and nutrients from the soil. There's no way for a seed to put down deep roots, so the plant shrivels and dies due to inadequate resources. Jesus says of such hearts that they initially receive the gospel with joy, but "when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away." (Mark 4:17a)
In America we have the species known as the Chameleon Christian. This kind of Christian tries to blend in with the rest of the crowd. They are afraid to be seen as different from others,. They don't want others to dislike them or judge them for their faith in Christ. Rather than live in ways that please God, These people try to please the people they are with. The approval of people is more important to them. The shallowness of their faith makes the hope of the gospel of little significance. Their eyes are not turned toward Christ in worship. Perhaps on Sunday mornings for an hour they try and focus on Christ, if they aren't preoccupied with what other people are wearing, saying, or doing at the church.
When I was in my 30's I began to deal with my inner insecurities. I had some huge boulders in the field of my heart that was blocking God's redeeming love. I had cynicism and pessimism in my head and heart, but I also had deep pain from childhood trauma. I wasn't allowing God into my heart fully, even though I believed in and loved God. I didn't want to go there myself, so God wasn't getting me to look at my heart. He wanted to clear away these rocks, so that my heart might be more fully open to receive Him.
Clearing a field of rocks and boulders is back breaking work. Clearing my heart of pain, immense grief, debilitating guilt and shame was the hardest thing I've ever done. God was with me all the way. God can do the same for you, if you'll be honest with yourself and trust the Lord. He can restore you to hope by healing your heart and giving you confidence as His beloved child. No man or woman or demon can take that away from you. No criticism or abuse can tarnish the heart that finds their ultimate security and worth in their relationship with Jesus.
Jesus said some hearts are like soil that is weed and thorn infested. They hear the good news, but "the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing." (Mark 4:19)
I'm more like this last soil than any of the others I think, although I have aspects of all three mentioned so far. I grew up middle class and enjoyed the yuppie era in the 1980's life was easy, money was good, and we had a good time! My attitude was to make enough money to have no worries, fund my leisure activities, and if there's a problem, pay somebody else to take care of it. The desire for wealth was great. We call the 80's the greed decade. I was in the midst of it enjoying the young up and coming generation of suits.
I still would like that life, but I know it's empty. I still want the nice things, but I know they don't give any lasting happiness. And now with the economy as it is I worry about my children and their future. We had it easy. Now there's a scarcity of decent jobs where one might make a living and build a career. I worry about the world they are living in with its loose morals and hateful violence. I have worries. I have worldly desires. And I also have a plethora of distractions to keep me from reaching my fullest potential. Movies, streaming video, music and the like as my favorite pastimes. When I have downtime I'm usually watching something on TV. I neglect my spiritual life by running to the happy diversion. By choosing these "other things" as opposed to spending time with the Lord, I am allowing hope to get choked out. I am a willing participant in my own limited harvest.
The good news is that I realize this and am learning to keep it in check. There are times when I reach for the remote that the Lord calls me to prayer. I obey that call and spend time with Him. There are times I know I should spend time in prayer and choose the easier substitute. I put in a DVD. God is not through with me. I don't think God is trying to turn me into an ascetic who completely denies himself of any worldly pleasure, but I do think God wants me to grow in His love and be more fruitful for the Kingdom of God. That requires allowing the Lord to pull some distracting weeds from my life. What are your weeds and thorns keeping you from bearing fruit for Christ? We have to be convinced that what God is offering is really all we need. He is offering us the Kingdom.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:32-34)
Finally Jesus said some hearts are like good soil yielding 40, 60, or a hundredfold. (Mark 4:20) These hearts hear the gospel, accept it and bear fruit for Christ and His kingdom. They have hope in a worldview where God is at work freeing all creation from its crash course with death. Paul says the world is in bondage to decay, but we are the first fruits of a new creation that is birthing. The resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of this new creation. We who believe have eternal life and share in the powers of the age to come through the Holy Spirit within us. We do not belong to this dying world. We are citizens of heaven. But we are sent into this world to work with Jesus to save it. We are to continue His ministry of teaching so that others might hear the good news. We are to scatter seeds just like the farmer. And where it is welcomed, we might even help with the weeding, watering, raking, spading, and clearing the fields of stone. We are called to connect people to Christ, the Master Gardener of the soul. We are called to help others on the way to fruitfulness in Christ.
May God convince us of our role in the world. May we know the hope He gives which will lead us from joy to joy and strengthen us through every trial. May our lives be a testament, a sign post to others that the good news is really good and something worth giving their hearts in hope.
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