A Better Life (Part 2)

I was listening to 2 Corinthians  before going to bed last night.  Two verses stood out whch I thought dovetailed nicely with what I learned from Tim Keller's sermon about the better life.

2 Corinthians 4:17,18
For  this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
  
A side note:  If you have not tried listening to the Bible, I would highly recommend giving it a try.  There's something to be said about hearing God's Word that seems more intimate, personal and immediate.  Perhaps it's because I'm not constantly trying  to dissect the passages as I tend to do when reading.  I'm not adept technologically; I would not know how to access the audio Bible had my niece not downloaded the YouVersion bible app onto my ipod this summer as she patiently showed me the wealth of things I could do with my hand-me-down ipod other than listen to the preloaded music.  Maybe you too could downland YouVersion onto your ipod, ipad, iphone, blackberry, android....and give a literal ear to God's voice!

A Better Life

Illustration by Lauren Monaco

“God does not promise better life circumstances but a better life."
Tim Keller from his sermon, A Christian's Happiness

This sermon is so multi-layered and multi-faceted that I have been mulling over it for weeks. What I am about  to write is not a summary of the sermon, some phrases and thoughts may be borrowed from the sermon, but the bulk is my own take on Keller’s teaching on Romans 8:28-30.

As Christians, if we are taught correctly, we know that our joy rests not in our life situations. We also know intellectually and experientially that bad things happen as much to Christians as to non-Christians. We face unemployment, illnesses, tsunamis, broken relationships, betrayal…and death like every one else. However, even though I have undergone difficulties in life, I had held subconsciously to the notion that I was somehow better protected from life’s troubles because the almighty God is with me and loves me.

This sermon has caused a paradigm shift for me. There is no doubt in my heart and mind that God is with me and loves me but it’s slowly sinking into me that God does not promise me or any of my loved ones better life circumstances but a better life.  At the end of the day, I have to ask myself: do I crave good life circumstances or a good life? There is a vast difference between the two and the former does not necessarily bring about the latter. For if we really think about it, when we are comfortable, we often do not feel we have a need for God or anyone else; we are also apt to become proud, autonomous, self-absorbed, and self-deceived. However, when life gets difficult, we quickly realize our limits and start looking beyond ourselves. The bad things that God allow to happen to us are so we can be cured of the things that would eventually destroy us, such as our selfishness, self-centeredness, and pride. I am glad Tim Keller made the effort to note that bad things are not blessings in disguise, as some are fond of saying. I always felt that that undermines the pain the individual is going through. Bad things are really bad; they are painful, hurtful and destructive. Jesus hates alienation, heartaches, illnesses, death so much so that He was willing to come into our broken world and experience all that ugliness for Himself and then destroy them once and for all. Keller also rightly noted that Jesus did not go through all that suffering so we His followers will not have to go through hard times but that when we suffer we might become more like Him. Through our suffering, God is transforming our inner essence to be more like His Son, shaping us to take on His qualities of truth, nobility, radiance, beauty, courage…so that we can live our lives with incredible compassion, love, power, integrity…just like our Lord Jesus. Through the difficulties He allows in our lives, He is growing us up to be more like Jesus, to live our lives like Jesus, for at the end of the day this is the better life.

Another thing that stood out to me from the sermon is how much I expect things to go well in this world, forgetting often that it is a broken world that we live in where things by all accounts should go wrong and fall apart but by the grace of God. I am not saying that we should be morbid and fearful in how we live, but that we should be lifting up routine praises and thanksgiving that things are as good and lovely as they are for when anything, and I mean anything, goes well, it is a miracle of grace. A happy marriage, good friends, pretty flowers, sustained employment, a safe flight, good health…are all miracles of grace. And just like sufferings are not limited to non-Christians, these miracles of common grace are not limited to Christians.

I hope you will take some time to listen to this remarkable sermon.

Romans 8: 28-30

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.