John was probably in his 90s. He had seen so many changes come and go in his lifetime. Political, religious, and
social world he grew up had vanished.
His band of brothers, the apostles, all had died and gone. Church was facing serious persecution from
the outside and false teaching from within.
Now, an old man, he was unable to travel to those
places where he had once labored for the Lord and built thriving communities of
the believers. When the news of persecution
and false teachings in those churches reached to him, it created a spiritual
discomfort that inspired him to write heart touching letters. In his first letter, John urges his spiritual
children to stay away from any kind of teaching that denies the gospel he had
preached to them. Over and again he
reminds them about the love of God and how we ought to live in love. Failing to believe in the Lord Jesus and refusing
to love a fellow brother would put his believers in the danger of hell fire. John was deeply concerned.
As he went on encouraging them, he could so
confidently speak about the present status of believers in Christ. The future, however, was still a mystery. False teachers were exploiting this seeming uncertainty. To help his spiritual children stand firm in
their belief, John writes; “Beloveds, now we are children of God, and
what we will be has not yet been made known.
But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall
see him as he is.”
For John, there was no uncertainty about who God is,
who Jesus is and what we have become in Christ.
Yet, when it comes to the details of our life in the future, John
confesses, he does not know everything.
We will be like Jesus Christ; that he knows. But how that will come about, we will have to
wait and see when that happens. Until
that day comes, we keep living like the Children of God.
There are things in life we do not have all the
answers yet. Why do the righteous suffer
and the wicked prosper? Where is God
when innocent people suffer injustice?
Where is God when I hurt? Why does
God not answer my prayer? There are so
many questions we would love to have the answer but we do not have them
yet.
Paul also talks about a time in which we shall see and
know all things as they really are. But for
now, they appear to be like reflections in the mirror; “For now we see only a
reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know
in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
As believers in Christ, we are not immune to
uncertainties of life. Suffering is real. Loneliness can become unbearable. Doubts and fears assail us. Poverty and sickness beset us. Lost hopes and suppressed dreams keep ridiculing
us from time to time. Things as these
stare us in the face and tell us to give up on God, give up on life and
everything.
Dear friends, like John and Paul, I would say that the
journey may be tough and unbearable but the destination is amazing. We may not have the full picture of what is
ahead of us but we have the full picture of who is ahead of us. Jesus Christ the author and the perfector of
our faith is ahead of us and we are told to fix our eyes upon him.
The writer of Hebrews encourages all those who suffered
for Christ in this life with these words; “You suffered along with those in
prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because
you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So
do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”
The God we believe in is a good God, a loving God, and
a just God. We may not know all the
answers right now. But there will come a
time when God will tell us everything like a father tells to his child about
the things of life. We shall become like
Jesus and know the father like Jesus knows.
All the heartaches we are going through in this journey will be nothing
compared to the glory we shall inherit.
Therefore, let us not give up our confidence even in
the face of uncertainties and unknowns.
(c) Bhojraj Bhatta
(c) Bhojraj Bhatta
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