Throughout this series, Foundations, we have looked intently at the Word of God and how Christians are called to faith and action. We who follow Jesus must build our lives on the firm foundation, and that is Jesus; then, as we build, there are load-bearing walls that we must have in place to build correctly. These load-bearing walls include the faith and belief that God is Who He is, as the Bible reveals He is. We believe that God is Triune and that God is eternally Father, Son, and Spirit, Three in One. God is Almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing, everlasting to everlasting. We believe that God is merciful, just, compassionate, holy, and good. God is our Heavenly Father, and He loves us deeply and personally. God is our Savior, Jesus Christ, and He secures salvation for sinners by His death and resurrection. God is the Holy Spirit, living within us and teaching, correcting, and training us for righteousness. These are foundational beliefs, but what are the foundational actions?
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 NIV
Be Intentional with your Focus
Pastor John taught a couple of weeks ago about the call that all Christians have to serve and be on mission with our Lord. And this week, we looked at the hope of eternal life, which is where our hearts and focus should be while we live. Hope is not a passive and unstirred byproduct of belief; it is instead a deliberate and directed attitude and action that Christians must hold personally and share generously. This passage in Colossians gives followers of Jesus an important prerogative - that because Christ is your life, your life’s focus must be Christ. Through prayer, reading and meditating on God’s Word, and joining Christ on His mission, we take steps to fix our hearts and minds on things above, and as we do that, we are taking steps towards a hopeful life. When we neglect to look to Jesus, abide with Jesus, and do what Jesus calls us to do, we neglect to focus on eternal life, and our human nature defaults to focusing on temporary satisfaction and the desires of this world. A quote that John shared on Sunday will likely be a sobering reminder that this world is not really holding up its end of the bargain when you seek it before seeking God’s Kingdom.
“Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.” C.S Lewis
Hold on to Hope and Share Hope Generously
The hope of Jesus is an inexhaustible resource. It won’t ever run out, but you can lose your grasp on it. When we allow our minds to wander to earthly troubles, and if we strive for temporary satisfaction, we loosen our grip on the hope that is complete in Jesus. This world is full of “options” that offer you hope and assurance. It can appear in the form of approval from a person, financial security, health, and happiness, but any one of these “options” that our flesh can be tempted to hope in will fail us. I am certain that if you have ever tried to put your hope in something of this world, that you have been let down by it, and if you haven’t yet, you will. These shaky foundations cannot support you and the life that Christ is inviting you to build. Only Jesus is the Firm Foundation, and because He keeps every promise that He makes, you will never be let down by Jesus.
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23 NIV
God’s Word instructs us to “hold” to the hope of Jesus, the hope of eternal life that we have because of Christ’s promises. But this hope that we hold is not a hope that we hoard. Putting hope into action is all about sharing the hope that you have with a hopeless world. One of the great blessings that God gives us is that we can’t ever out-give Him. So the more you share the hope of Jesus in this world, the more you will have the hope of Jesus near to you. The more you focus on sharing the goodness of God, the more you will recognize the goodness of God.
