Saturday, November 19, 2005
Misplaced hope
The fragility and brevity of human life are easily and quickly exposed. While we know this for a fact, its manifestation is still a great shock to us. In a moment, it becomes glaringly apparent that life is not as lasting as we thought, that we are indeed mortal, and whats more, that we are not necessarily in control of very much at all. We are stunned when the veneer of permanence and stability we have ascribed to our world is peeled away. Without much consideration, we view this world, this society with its many trappings, as something steadfast and sure.
In addition, there are many ideals and virtues that we cherish. Justice, liberty and prosperity, to name a few, are the qualities of great importance to us; they are the embodiment of what we value. Though not tangible items, they have attained a sort of transcendent quality and seem to be beyond the attacks of ignoble mankind. And so we believe that we have within our possession a vast storehouse of surety. We think we have found a solid foundation on which to live and build our lives and societies. The items that form this foundation, tangible or otherwise, have secured our trust and have become the objects of our hope. When the things in which we hope are attacked, when the mortality of human life and frailty of our existence are revealed, we cannot help but seek out both a hope that is real and a life that cannot be destroyed.
True center
“Things fall apart, the center cannot hold.” The words of Irish poet William Butler Yeats (from “The Second Coming”) ring true to us today. Within, we sense the lack of real stability in our lives and in our world. In such times we realize that we must find a true center, something more powerful then we or even our human society are. There must be a center that is eternal and indestructible. This center can be found only in Jesus Christ and in the power of His eternal and indestructible life. the hope that is enduring and the life that cannot be destroyed are real and they are available to us today. Christ and the power of His indestructible life is our unique need.
Christ is the embodiment of the eternal life, a life that is uncreated, divine and everlasting. (1) As such, he is the center of the universe, and because of him there is a definite reason why things do not fall apart. In his letter to the believers in the city of Colossae nearly two thousand years ago, the apostle Paul explained the universe in terms of this excellent person named Christ Jesus. Christ is the center of the universe, he wrote, both its point of focus and source of stability. In Christ and through Christ “all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth.” All things in this universe cohere in him. They subsist together in him. Like spokes of a wheel held together by the hub, Christ is the universe’s true holding center.(2)
Living Hope
As the embodiment of the eternal life and the holding center of the universe, Christ is the only one who can be our real security. He alone is worthy of our hope. In him we find the only way to obtain the hope of stability for which we long, because in him we find eternal life with all of its power and transcendence. Christ with his divine, eternal life is not bound by time or space. His life is unlimited in its capacity; it is an indestructible and indissoluble life, and as such, it is not fleeting and not subject to man’s destructive acts.(3) Our only chance for obtaining real hope is found by our believing into Christ and receiving his eternal and indestructible life.
This hope is a living hope and it hinges on the eternal life.(4) while we may view eternal life as something exalted and beyond the reach of mortal men, it is nonetheless obtainable. Eternal life is the divine, uncreated life of God. Such a lasting and real life has been made available to un in Christ and through what he has accomplished. As the Son of God, Jesus came to be life to man and to give man life in an abundant way.(5) in his work on the cross, Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins, shedding his blood to redeem us and reconcile us to God. Christ’s death, moreover, released his resurrection life. the power of his life could not be held by death. Instead if remaining in the grave, he arose, becoming the life giving spirit. (6) as such, he is now able to impart his eternal life into all those that believe into him.(7) his life is the resurrection life-the only life that is true and the only life that can withstand death and rises out of it victorious. Christ and his life are those things which death cannot conquer. They are the object of our hope.
Indestructible
“he who believes into the Son has eternal life.” by believing into Christ, we receive the life that is eternal and indestructible, and with this life we obtain a living hope. As the embodiment of the eternal life, Christ is the only one in whom we can truly hope. We can no longer hope in the things we find in this world, nor can we produce true hope out of our own strength or imagination. Hope is sure only when we place it in Jesus Christ. Unlike our own human life, his life is not fading but eternal. We find real and enduring hope when we believe into him and receive his life. then, and only then, will we know and possess the power of his indestructible life.
1 John 11:25 .2 Colossians 1:16-17 .3 Hebrews 7:16 .4 first Peter 1:3 .5 John 10:10 .6 first Corinthians 15:45b .7 John 3:16 .8 John 3:36
The fragility and brevity of human life are easily and quickly exposed. While we know this for a fact, its manifestation is still a great shock to us. In a moment, it becomes glaringly apparent that life is not as lasting as we thought, that we are indeed mortal, and whats more, that we are not necessarily in control of very much at all. We are stunned when the veneer of permanence and stability we have ascribed to our world is peeled away. Without much consideration, we view this world, this society with its many trappings, as something steadfast and sure.
In addition, there are many ideals and virtues that we cherish. Justice, liberty and prosperity, to name a few, are the qualities of great importance to us; they are the embodiment of what we value. Though not tangible items, they have attained a sort of transcendent quality and seem to be beyond the attacks of ignoble mankind. And so we believe that we have within our possession a vast storehouse of surety. We think we have found a solid foundation on which to live and build our lives and societies. The items that form this foundation, tangible or otherwise, have secured our trust and have become the objects of our hope. When the things in which we hope are attacked, when the mortality of human life and frailty of our existence are revealed, we cannot help but seek out both a hope that is real and a life that cannot be destroyed.
True center
“Things fall apart, the center cannot hold.” The words of Irish poet William Butler Yeats (from “The Second Coming”) ring true to us today. Within, we sense the lack of real stability in our lives and in our world. In such times we realize that we must find a true center, something more powerful then we or even our human society are. There must be a center that is eternal and indestructible. This center can be found only in Jesus Christ and in the power of His eternal and indestructible life. the hope that is enduring and the life that cannot be destroyed are real and they are available to us today. Christ and the power of His indestructible life is our unique need.
Christ is the embodiment of the eternal life, a life that is uncreated, divine and everlasting. (1) As such, he is the center of the universe, and because of him there is a definite reason why things do not fall apart. In his letter to the believers in the city of Colossae nearly two thousand years ago, the apostle Paul explained the universe in terms of this excellent person named Christ Jesus. Christ is the center of the universe, he wrote, both its point of focus and source of stability. In Christ and through Christ “all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth.” All things in this universe cohere in him. They subsist together in him. Like spokes of a wheel held together by the hub, Christ is the universe’s true holding center.(2)
Living Hope
As the embodiment of the eternal life and the holding center of the universe, Christ is the only one who can be our real security. He alone is worthy of our hope. In him we find the only way to obtain the hope of stability for which we long, because in him we find eternal life with all of its power and transcendence. Christ with his divine, eternal life is not bound by time or space. His life is unlimited in its capacity; it is an indestructible and indissoluble life, and as such, it is not fleeting and not subject to man’s destructive acts.(3) Our only chance for obtaining real hope is found by our believing into Christ and receiving his eternal and indestructible life.
This hope is a living hope and it hinges on the eternal life.(4) while we may view eternal life as something exalted and beyond the reach of mortal men, it is nonetheless obtainable. Eternal life is the divine, uncreated life of God. Such a lasting and real life has been made available to un in Christ and through what he has accomplished. As the Son of God, Jesus came to be life to man and to give man life in an abundant way.(5) in his work on the cross, Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins, shedding his blood to redeem us and reconcile us to God. Christ’s death, moreover, released his resurrection life. the power of his life could not be held by death. Instead if remaining in the grave, he arose, becoming the life giving spirit. (6) as such, he is now able to impart his eternal life into all those that believe into him.(7) his life is the resurrection life-the only life that is true and the only life that can withstand death and rises out of it victorious. Christ and his life are those things which death cannot conquer. They are the object of our hope.
Indestructible
“he who believes into the Son has eternal life.” by believing into Christ, we receive the life that is eternal and indestructible, and with this life we obtain a living hope. As the embodiment of the eternal life, Christ is the only one in whom we can truly hope. We can no longer hope in the things we find in this world, nor can we produce true hope out of our own strength or imagination. Hope is sure only when we place it in Jesus Christ. Unlike our own human life, his life is not fading but eternal. We find real and enduring hope when we believe into him and receive his life. then, and only then, will we know and possess the power of his indestructible life.
1 John 11:25 .2 Colossians 1:16-17 .3 Hebrews 7:16 .4 first Peter 1:3 .5 John 10:10 .6 first Corinthians 15:45b .7 John 3:16 .8 John 3:36
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To the caretaker of this Blog:
May I know how does Kelvin cope with the bitterness? Is he even bitter?
Why is the abundance of life which Kelvin is suppose to have, so full of pain and sickness? I myself am a Christian, somehow I can't match what I see in the world with what I read in the bible. Even if it produces a harvest of righteousness, does it justify the existence of pain in the first place? Why is creation like that?
YOu can reach me @ thomas_hjl@yahoo.com.sg
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May I know how does Kelvin cope with the bitterness? Is he even bitter?
Why is the abundance of life which Kelvin is suppose to have, so full of pain and sickness? I myself am a Christian, somehow I can't match what I see in the world with what I read in the bible. Even if it produces a harvest of righteousness, does it justify the existence of pain in the first place? Why is creation like that?
YOu can reach me @ thomas_hjl@yahoo.com.sg
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: February 24, 2006 at 4:18:00 PM GMT+8
: February 24, 2006 at 4:18:00 PM GMT+8<< Home
