Dream Bigger - Go for Love
Sometimes somebody says something that just makes sense of your life. One word - or one statement - causes all of the disjointed jigsaw pieces to miraculously come together, hover in the air for one breathtaking moment of suspense, and then form a beautifully uniform picture before your very eyes.
You don't know what I mean? Okay, let me explain.
I'm still studying the book of Romans. Last time I wrote a blog, I was on chapter 1. Well, I haven't gotten very far in the past few weeks. I'm on chapter 5 now. Last night and this morning I listened to a sermon by Billy Humphrey on Romans 5:3-5, which reads:
"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
If you think a whole sermon on such a short passage is a strange thing, you'll be surprised to know that Billy preached a whole series on these few verses. And I'm sure it wasn't enough.
The basic idea is clear enough. We are told to rejoice in the midst of trials because of what they produce in our hearts - namely, hope and love. Easy to understand, undoubtedly hard to live out. But what about the last part? "Hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit..." (v.5, italics mine) We grow in hope because we experience God's love... What is the logic of that?
Pay attention, and I'll summarize how Billy explained it, and how it made my whole life suddenly make sense.
For the believer, hardship drives us further into God. We are pressed, crushed, and pulled, and persevering faith is the fruit. Keep waiting on God with that kind of patient trust, even when things don't make sense, and it will change you. Enter the next virtue: godly character. Now we are actually becoming a brand new person by virtue of suffering! This is already reason to rejoice. But it gets better.
The trial continues to singe and torture our flesh, and if we refuse to let go of Jesus, our spirit man is further purified in the flames. To make it this far we must steadfastly refuse all the other false hopes that present themselves - money, well meaning people, medications, and even sin - that promise to fix whatever is bothering us. We fix our eyes resolutely on Christ, determining that He be our salvation, and no one else.
What I've just described is true, biblical hope: a confident expectation of good that rests on God and His Word alone. Like a seed planted and hidden in dark soil, struggling through the winter, it finally blooms and blossoms in the Spring of God's perfect timing. Hope rises, and joy and peace follow on its secure wings.
Paul, the writer of Romans, could have left it there, but he had one more thing to tell about this chain reaction that is initiated in suffering. This rock solid hope that is formed inside of us never disappoints, never fails, and never leaves us dry, because we get the thing we long for the most.
We get love.
Other hopes do disappoint. They carry us along only for a short distance, then run out of gas or turn on us completely with new demands and fresh chains of bondage. Only the love of God can satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. A thriving ministry, a healthy body and a wholesome family are worthy dreams. I pray and hope for each of these things. But these are hopes that will disappoint. No ministry is without persecution, no body lasts forever, and blessed family life will satisfy us only partially. Only the love of Christ can touch us this deeply, change us so completely, and serve as a perfect bridge to the age to come where love will be experienced in overflowing abundance. No wonder David exclaimed in a moment of ecstatic insight, "Your love is better than life!" (Psalm 63:3, NIV)
So what was the statement that impacted me so much? Summing this passage up, Billy said it something like this: "Love is the greatest dream of the human heart. And suffering holds an opportunity for that dream to come true for us."
Whether you realize it or not, love is your highest dream. And your deepest hurt may just lead you right to it. Maybe this is part of what Jesus meant when He said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4).
Some pain is inevitable. Let's turn it into a willing journey right into the center of Jesus's heart. Because that is, quite literally, our grandest dream come true.
You don't know what I mean? Okay, let me explain.
I'm still studying the book of Romans. Last time I wrote a blog, I was on chapter 1. Well, I haven't gotten very far in the past few weeks. I'm on chapter 5 now. Last night and this morning I listened to a sermon by Billy Humphrey on Romans 5:3-5, which reads:
"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
If you think a whole sermon on such a short passage is a strange thing, you'll be surprised to know that Billy preached a whole series on these few verses. And I'm sure it wasn't enough.
The basic idea is clear enough. We are told to rejoice in the midst of trials because of what they produce in our hearts - namely, hope and love. Easy to understand, undoubtedly hard to live out. But what about the last part? "Hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit..." (v.5, italics mine) We grow in hope because we experience God's love... What is the logic of that?
Pay attention, and I'll summarize how Billy explained it, and how it made my whole life suddenly make sense.
For the believer, hardship drives us further into God. We are pressed, crushed, and pulled, and persevering faith is the fruit. Keep waiting on God with that kind of patient trust, even when things don't make sense, and it will change you. Enter the next virtue: godly character. Now we are actually becoming a brand new person by virtue of suffering! This is already reason to rejoice. But it gets better.
The trial continues to singe and torture our flesh, and if we refuse to let go of Jesus, our spirit man is further purified in the flames. To make it this far we must steadfastly refuse all the other false hopes that present themselves - money, well meaning people, medications, and even sin - that promise to fix whatever is bothering us. We fix our eyes resolutely on Christ, determining that He be our salvation, and no one else.
What I've just described is true, biblical hope: a confident expectation of good that rests on God and His Word alone. Like a seed planted and hidden in dark soil, struggling through the winter, it finally blooms and blossoms in the Spring of God's perfect timing. Hope rises, and joy and peace follow on its secure wings.
Paul, the writer of Romans, could have left it there, but he had one more thing to tell about this chain reaction that is initiated in suffering. This rock solid hope that is formed inside of us never disappoints, never fails, and never leaves us dry, because we get the thing we long for the most.
We get love.
Other hopes do disappoint. They carry us along only for a short distance, then run out of gas or turn on us completely with new demands and fresh chains of bondage. Only the love of God can satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. A thriving ministry, a healthy body and a wholesome family are worthy dreams. I pray and hope for each of these things. But these are hopes that will disappoint. No ministry is without persecution, no body lasts forever, and blessed family life will satisfy us only partially. Only the love of Christ can touch us this deeply, change us so completely, and serve as a perfect bridge to the age to come where love will be experienced in overflowing abundance. No wonder David exclaimed in a moment of ecstatic insight, "Your love is better than life!" (Psalm 63:3, NIV)
So what was the statement that impacted me so much? Summing this passage up, Billy said it something like this: "Love is the greatest dream of the human heart. And suffering holds an opportunity for that dream to come true for us."
Whether you realize it or not, love is your highest dream. And your deepest hurt may just lead you right to it. Maybe this is part of what Jesus meant when He said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4).
Some pain is inevitable. Let's turn it into a willing journey right into the center of Jesus's heart. Because that is, quite literally, our grandest dream come true.
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