Sermon Snippet – One Difficult Life
INTRODUCTION – As part of our study of “the simplicity [singleness of purpose] that is in Christ” (II Corinthians 11:3), we have touched upon faith, love, and hope from I Corinthians 13:13 and how they worked out in the Easter account. Last week, we studied part of Ephesians 4:4-6, which also specifically mentions faith and hope; love is included in verse 3. Today, let us consider how this simple Christian triad is exemplified in the life of one man, unknown to history except for his inclusion in the Gospels. We will study this man’s life based upon Mark 9:17-27.
1. WE STRUGGLE IN FAITH
Imagine a worship service with hundreds of people. It is being led by some of the best-known evangelists in the world. Numerous people share stirring testimonies of what God has done and is doing in their lives. Then your turn comes. All eyes are upon you; everyone is listening intently and expecting uplifting words of faith. You speak one sentence: “Lord, help me in my unbelief.” Imagine the shock – and perhaps the pursed lips and uncomfortable silence of judgment. Imagine how unspiritual you would seem to be. Yet this man does exactly what I have outlined (verse 24b). His struggle is ours, for there is a difference between what life often is and what it could be. What surrounded this father? Either healthy people or formerly afflicted people who had been recently healed. His life, though, was dominated by his son’s illness. We understand – and experience – his struggle. He was looking at what was (his son’s affliction) and at what could be (all the healthy people) and was trying to reconcile the two. Both were preventing him from focusing upon the necessary object of faith – Jesus Christ. Faith is trust; faith is dependence. Faith involves a careful evaluation of evidence. I do not have faith in Jesus because it is convenient or because it is a crutch. No, I have spent my life from the time I was a young boy reading, studying, analyzing, comparing, thinking. My faith grows each year not because my life has become easier (it has not); my faith grows because of my ongoing evaluation of the evidence for Jesus as Savior and of the lack of evidence for any alternative. If our faith is in Jesus, then our faith is as strong as Jesus Himself. However, because we are not as strong as He is, we will struggle at times to understand the difficulties of life. As a practical matter, we know that life is hard, at least at times. We can go through these difficulties alone or with Jesus. The latter is better, much better.
2. WE SUFFER IN LOVE
Of course, there are joys in love, too. I think of the words of a song by Paul Simon: “I am a rock. I am an island. And a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries.” True, but rocks and islands do not laugh and celebrate and live in anticipation and expectation, either. Beyond that, we are not rocks and islands (the point that Mr. Simon was making). To love, though, is to be invested in the life of someone else so thoroughly that we share the pain. Love permeates this Biblical passage (note, for example, the “tears” in verse 24). Love can hurt more than anything else in the world. Jesus knows that truth: He suffered the excruciating pain of crucifixion, the spiritual pain of a holy God bearing our sin, all of our sin. His love is comprehensive: we are His children, and that which hurts us is felt by Him. Jesus knew exactly how this father felt. He knows that we suffer in love, too.
3. WE SOAR IN HOPE
This man had some faith and much love, but he had very little hope. Biblical hope is a certainty, yet we live in an uncertain world. My health may fail this year (it will sometime), but Jesus will still be my Savior. Sometimes we do not dare to hope for something better than what we are experiencing at the moment. I once heard a fine pastor say, “Disappointment comes from unrealistic expectations,” and that statement is true. However, Jesus is different from this old world, and hope in Him is not misplaced and does not disappoint (Romans 5:5a).He does heal this man’s son (verse 27). No situation is hopeless; no person is hopeless, either. In Colossians 1:27, Jesus is called “the hope of glory.” He is, and that is why we can soar in hope.
CONCLUSION – Let us briefly review and summarize. If our faith is really in Jesus, then our faith is as strong as Jesus. If we love deeply, then Jesus loves more. If we are losing hope, then we are losing. Let us be honest with Jesus. This man was, and Jesus met him at his weakest point. Of course, our weakest point is that we cannot save ourselves for eternity. We need a Savior, and it is certain that Jesus will meet that everlasting need if we simply trust in Him for salvation. May we trust in this trustworthy Savior.