Welcome back everyone! I hope
that each of you had a safe and enjoyable 4th of July holiday. I made
a trip about an hour and a half south of my home to the underrated city of
Chattanooga. My girlfriend and I strolled the downtown area, rode in a historic
steam locomotive, and ate some of the best steak I’ve ever had. I wasn’t ready
for the weekend to end, but it’s time to get back at it!
I’ve
been thinking a lot lately about the essence of the Christian life. You’ve met
Jesus and pledged to live your life in service to Him – now what? For the vast
majority of us, the answer to this question invokes images of Bible studies,
mission trips, quiet time with God, and maybe even a few good works every now
and then.
There’s
nothing wrong with any of these things. In fact, they are all wonderful and
beneficial in cultivating an intimate relationship with the Creator. However, I
feel that the essence of the Christian life runs much deeper than a superficial
to-do list.
The essence of the Christian life
can be summarized as follows:
1. Trial
2. Transformation
3. Trust
4. Triumph
Each successive
element necessarily flows from the previous one – i.e. transformation flows
from trials and trust flows from transformation. Let’s take a quick look at how
each of these elements relates to one another within the context of the
Christian life.
It’s a fairly
widespread belief nowadays to feel that all of your troubles will disappear the
moment Christ becomes the center of your life. This is a flat-out heresy and
clearly unsubstantiated by Scripture. The New Testament (and Old for that
matter) is full of examples of those who suffered in the name of Christ Jesus.
Paul was imprisoned, Peter was killed, and Stephen became the first martyr of
the faith when he was stoned to death. Like these heroes of the faith, our
Christian walk will necessarily be filled with countless trials. With Christ at the center of our lives, we are
equipped with the weaponry necessary to tackle even the most daunting of trials.
I hold to the belief that a Christian is
saved over time rather than at a single point of conversion. You may disagree with me, but that is a topic
for another time. I’ve often quoted this verse, but it’s worth typing out one
more time. Matthew 24: 12-13 reads as follows: “And because iniquity shall
abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the
end, the same shall be saved.” Attacking and overcoming the many obstacles
we invariably will face over the course of our lives (with Christ’s help, of
course!) produces the perseverance that ultimately leads to Salvation.
Persevering through our trials leads to
transformation – transformation of the way in which relate to God and those
around us. Our own difficulties in life open our eyes to the omnipotent
goodness of God and creates sensitivities to the challenges that those around
us may be facing. As Mark 12: 29-31 exhorts: “The most important one answered
Jesus, is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor
as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Transformation
is an often-overlooked aspect of the Christian journey. Ignoring the
transformational aspect of the faith leads to a decidedly antinomian view of
Salvation. Unequivocally, faith in Christ is a gift from above. The Grace we
receive from this faith is unable to be earned in any way and is only made
possible by Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on Calvary. This free gift of Grace
works in us through the intervention of the Holy Spirit to produce
transformation in our lives and give us the ability to love God and love our neighbor.
Despite our
Lord and Savior’s command to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves,
there is just one problem. The problem is that we are born sinful. Sin entered
the world in Genesis 3 and remains with us to this day. Simply following Christ
does not exempt us from the sinful nature that impacts every aspect of our
lives. God is all too aware of our sinful nature and knows there will be times
that we fall short of loving God and loving our neighbor. It’s for this reason
that God gives us the gift of Word and Sacrament. In the times we aren’t up to
Christ’s challenge, we are right to trust in the promises sealed to God’s
people in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We must trust that Christ died to
forgive all of our sins – both before and after Christ entered our lives. The
fact that our sin is forgiven doesn’t give us a license to sin without consequence
but provides recourse to a restored relationship with the Father when sin inevitably
creeps into our lives.
The culmination of trials,
transformation, and trust is triumph! If we rest in the promises of God, then
we are His. John 10: 28-30 provides this assurance: “I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my
hand. My
Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[a]; no one can snatch them out of my
Father’s hand. I and
the Father are one.” This is good news indeed! When the trials of life leave
you searching for answers, remember that perseverance produces transformation
in the depths of our heart. Given that complete transformation will not occur
on this side of Heaven, our shortcomings lead us to acknowledge the finished
work of Christ on the cross. Resting on this work leads us to the ultimate
victory – eternity with Christ in the new Heavens and the new Earth.
It
is my sincere hope that these brief points will be helpful to you in your walk
with Christ. The most important takeaway is that each of the “4 T’s” ultimately
point us to Christ and the sacrifice he made on our behalf. Because of this, we
are equipped to handle whatever life throws at us – and it ‘s been a lot here
in 2020.
In Christ,
Kendal May
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