“Therefore I say and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk in the futility of your mind, as the Gentiles do, darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts…” (Ephesians 4:17,18).
For all practical purposes, most people live as if there were no God. One does not have to be a newspaper reporter to know that there is a tremendous amount of despair in the world. Somehow, fear and despair have become so common that we have almost become addicted to them. No matter what we say we believe, our lives in the real world, at least externally, often resemble those of people who have little hope.
Of course, all this would make sense if there were no such thing as God. If there were nothing worth pursuing beyond the limits of this world, frustration would be an understandable (if still unfortunate) response to the state of affairs in which the world is.
But many of us believe that God exists. We believe there are things worth reaching for in eternity if we choose to do so, and even in this life, we believe there are principles and values that can make a difference in our thinking for good. How is it that we, of all people, live like people with our backs to the wall? If people can’t tell any difference between us and our non-Christian neighbors in the way we deal with life’s disappointments, what kind of comment is that on our strong faith? And what kind of reflection does it have on what we accept as God?
If, through the gospel of Christ, we have been forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God, we are no longer among those who “have no hope and are without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Whatever our suffering, we should not “suffer as others have, which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). As Christians, we may still be many things, but Disappointed Shouldn’t be one of them.
Of course, we don’t do what’s right just for the sake of appearance. But still, if those who know us say that we are as desperate as any other person in the world, it should give us pause to think. If people don’t notice any difference, is there any difference? If we’re not reaching further, are we reaching further? Are we really?
“Most people live lives of quiet desperation” (Henry David Thoreau).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
