We like to think we’re in control of our lives, but often we are not. Think of your genes. What predisposition to a disease do you have? Think of employment. You work hard for a company, but it gets in financial trouble and you’re out. Think of impersonal government. They pass laws that affect your daily life, often burdensome laws. And crime. What terrible act by another can rob you of possessions, a loved one, or even your own life?
Just like everyone else, followers of Jesus are assaulted by outside forces. We’re in a time of the church year when pastors are trying to keep our spirits up with the message of Easter, not an easy thing to do when the lilies have lost their beauty and problems overwhelm us. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17), but faith moves forward in light of Easter. So does the church calendar. Ascension is ahead of us, and Christ who removed His visible sight from us will return to our sight. “Set your hope fully on the grace being brought to you by the revealing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).
Writing about ancient Greek tragedy, Simon Critchley says, “The gods are names for powers not under our control” (“Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us,” 68). You and I are at the mercy of so much, but the God we know has given us His mercy through the resurrection of Christ. Believing that, we look ahead to His revealing. Forward!
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