Living in Light of the Hope (Part 1)

I have been thoroughly enjoying Paul Tripp's latest book, Forever: Why You Can't Live Without It. If you're a believer and you don't know the how's and why's of what it means to live out your daily life in view of eternity, this is a great place to start wrapping your mind around these biblical truths! In our Ladies' study of the Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 5-7, we've listened to Jesus talk about the importance of having 20/20 spiritual vision (Mt.6:22-23). This is exactly what Tripp addresses in his book. Here is the first of his reflections on the difference the hope of forever makes. 

"If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who
                                     have fallen asleep."  (1 Corinthians 15:12-21)

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Our hope for the future depends on the actual point-in-time historicity of a past event, on the actuality of the resurrection of Jesus. If there was no empty tomb, then there is no hope of life after death. Life with God forever guarantees our final deliverance from all that sin has broken and life forever with the Lord. ...Here is the first specific way the resurrection makes a difference in the here and now:

The resurrection of Jesus and the hope of forever tell us what is really important in life. Many of us have lost sight of what is truly important. Consider these examples:

• Sarah lost it yesterday morning when her son spilled his cereal for the third day in a row.
• Sam silently cursed the weather that had created the traffic jam that he didn't want to be in.
• Mary didn't seem to be able to quit obsessing over the fact that Susan hadn't asked her to be in her wedding.
• Frank struggled with being bitter that as a father of four he had little time for himself anymore.
• Jeanna was tired of having to pick up after her roommate.

When circumstances rise to levels of importance way beyond their actual importance, they exercise more control over us than they should. Success is not the most important thing in life. Pleasure is not the most important thing in life. The degree to which others appreciate us and accept us is not the most important thing in life either, nor is the degree of our control over people and circumstances or the size of our pile of possessions.The resurrection of Jesus and the hope of forever give us a sense of priority and proportion.

Your biggest difficulty is not outside of you, it is inside of you. The Bible names it: sin. ...It is the universal and unavoidable disease. It is the one thing we cannot rescue ourselves from. It destroys our spirituality as it robs us of our humanity. If you are living for all those other things and are ignoring your sin, you are ignoring the single most significant problem of your existence. ...Sure all those relational, situational, and physical things you worry about are important in some way, but they must not be viewed as the essence of what life is about. ...The resurrection guarantees the progressive defeat of sin in the here and now and the final deliverance from it in eternity.

[In reference to a believer named Scott, who found himself weighed down by family and work responsibilities and felt as if life had passed him by, Tripp writes...] He was confused about what God was doing, and because he was, he lived with unrealistic expectations, which resulted in disenchantment with his faith. What Scott failed to understand was that the life that God promised him and was delivering to him was not the good life of an easy, predictable marriage, compliant children, and a satisfying job. God promised to work on Scott. Every day Scott was the recipient of patient, forgiving grace. Every day he was given the power to defeat temptations that he could not defeat on his own. In situation after situation, God was using the difficulties of life to grow, change, and mature Scott. ...All of those promises that Scott doubted were being fulfilled daily, but not in the way he expected or in the places he looked. ...The most important gift of all, the defeat of sin, was being delivered to Scott, but he didn't see it. Scott was being given the good life, yet day after day he awoke to the disappointment of believing that the good life had passed him by.

[When Scott came to understand these biblical truths, his view of life changed. He was able to say...] "I know my marriage isn't all that it could be, my children are difficult at times, and my job isn't always fulfilling, but I have reason to be thankful and encouraged. ...Today, because of the resurrection, I am given forgiveness for my wrongs, power to face temptation, and the hope that one day my battle will be over. And I also know that when things are tough, God is not absent, but using hardship to make me a man who quits looking for life where it can't be found and who starts celebrating the life he has already been given and the life that is to come." Because Scott  now gets what God is doing, he approaches his marriage, parenting, and job with peace of heart and confidence in the presence and help of the resurrected Jesus.