Infallible Hope

Though we all seek riches, comfort, happiness and success in this world, we cannot avoid weakness, hardship, sorrow, loss and rejection in varying measures from time to time. While the world often seeks happiness, comfort and success as the deepest fulfilment, greatest meaning and ultimate consolation, as Christ followers our identities, hopes and greatest satisfaction comes not from what this world provides but in Christ alone! So when our world turns upside down, our dreams are dashed, our sorrows abound, our strength is gone, our joy and riches lost…. we despair not because our hope is infallible in Christ. We can expect a reversal, a great reversal!

I love how Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount talks about this greatest reversal of fortunes! What the world considers as worthless and inconsequential is actually termed blessed by the Lord! Blessed are those who are deprived, denied, diminished, disregarded and disposed of because God’s power, authority and agency will bring about a great reversal that matters for all of eternity! Our life is not measured by what we have and what we achieve but it has immense value when we place our trust, hope and satisfaction in God alone. God is calling us out of our self-sufficiency, self-centeredness, self-absorption and self-importance to rely on Him alone and be satisfied in Him if we want joy that lasts and hope that is infallible!
Luke 6:20-23a
²⁰ Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
²² Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you
    and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
²³ “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.

We see this great reversal of fortune in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man was so satisfied, comfortable and so successful in the world’s eyes and his instagram feed was so full of the splendor of his home, food, clothes and success. Lazarus on the other hand, had nothing to write home about and his life was full of misery, covered in sores, utterly poor and longing to eat a crumb from the rich man’s table. Death catches up sooner or later with everyone, both the haves and have-nots. Both died. Fortunes reverse. Lazarus finds himself in the splendor, joy and glory of heaven while the rich man is in agony in hell fire where no pride, achievement, power or possession from his earthly life could relieve or save him.
Luke 16: 19-25
¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰ At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴ So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ ²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

Lazarus experienced the great reversal of bad things for good things after death because He choose to put his trust and hope in God. The rich man in contrast trusted his riches, fame and success. The rich man’s fortunes and good things were not enough to save him and he looked on in envy at Lazarus. We can look at the instagram perfect curated life of others who have it all in this world and envy them while we look at the hardship, sorrow and despair in our own lives and give up hope. When sorrow and hardship visit us, we need to remind ourselves of the insufficiency of all that we seek in this life and press into God even more and put our hope in Him. And when our lives are filled with good things, it is all the more important to not gloat in our achievements and be self-important for the greatest treasures of this world are worthless and insufficient to save us.

Our infallible hope and trust in this life lies in knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection. Yes, we would all like a reversal of fortunes in this life too when we face hardship, sorrow, loss and rejection and we must pray for this reversal. However, we need to know that our ultimate consolation, our greatest satisfaction, our deepest meaning comes from seeking God alone through all the ups and downs of life. Our fulfilment does not come through perfectly curated instagrammable lives of accumulating wealth, experiencing pleasures, fame and approval of man but instead having the favor and goodwill of God in our lives. We need to ensure that the good things don’t ensnare us and the bad things don’t despair us out of God’s presence and power in our lives!
Philippians 3:10
¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Right now, your world might be upside down and you are near despair or you might be on a mountain top experiencing joy. No matter the extremes of your situation, are you trusting God? Is your ultimate hope and confidence in God alone rather than the happiness, comfort, riches and success of this world? You can have infallible hope in Christ and the power of his resurrection that will enable you to live more fully above the circumstances of this world. When you have God as your ultimate consolation, you still have everything worth living for! You then can expect a great reversal both now and into eternity!
2 Corinthians 4:17
¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.