The Only Answer

Yesterday, I did something I don't know that I've ever done in 12 years of ministry.  I preached a sermon that I finished around 1 a.m. that morning.  After the tragedy in Newtown, I struggled to find answers.  Honestly, I wanted to avoid the news.  It was too real for me.  I have two sons in elementary school.  My first grader, Tanner, is 6.  16 of the children killed were 6.  I tried not to think about it because it is too close.

I made it through the message okay because I did most of my crying while writing it.  The passage that brought me most comfort was Romans 9:38:

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

If I'm honest, I believe in practical ministry.  I try to preach sermons that will help people lead better lives.  I believe God has an awesome plan for our lives.  I believe when we are obedient to Him, it opens the door to blessing upon blessing.  When I love people the way God wants me to, life is better.  When I forgive people the way God wants me to, life is better.  When I honor God with my body by how I treat it and how I eat, life is better.  When I honor God with my money, life is better.  When I love my wife like Christ loves the church, my marriage is better.  Simply, when I submit my thoughts, words and actions to the way of God, my life is better.  I preach that way.  I think Christianity has become terribly impractical for a generation that is detached from the the Church.  They don't think Jesus matters in their lives.  I've spent most of my ministry trying to convince that generation that He does matter.

However, there are moments when nothing practical makes sense.  Our faith cannot bring those children and educators back in Newton, Connecticut.  There is a huge, gaping hole in the hearts of countless people in that community (and maybe yours) that cannot be filled in the face of such tragedy.  It is in those moments that I am so grateful that, though faith in Christ does offer practical wisdom for our best life, faith in Christ is ultimately about the most impractical thing we could ever imagine:  eternal life.

No matter how bad this life gets, even when the practical stuff doesn't work, even when tragedy steals our heart, and circumstances dampen our joy, we believe in a better day.  That was the only answer I had for the people of God at Church of the Way yesterday:  there is more than this.  There is another day.  There is a better day.  There is a day when the dead in Christ will rise again.  There will be a day when there will be a new heaven and a new earth where there is no more pain, no more heartache, and no more tears.  Nothing can separate us from that day in Christ Jesus.  Nothing.  Not hurricanes.  Not a financial cliff.  Not a gunman.  Nothing. 

Now, here's my rub in this.  There's only one answer:  faith in Jesus.  Statistics show that nearly all Americans want to believe in heaven, but we don't want to believe in the claims of Jesus to be the means through which we receive the grace we need to get there.  That's the other impractical part of it.  We don't deserve it, but Jesus died for us anyway and loves us anyway.  We want to use these tragedies to faintly talk about God's comfort.  And His comfort is a reality.  I believe God is present in the messes.  However, what our world needs more than anything is the message that is unique to the Church.  We have the one Hope we all need.  We corner the market on the one answer when ever other answer fails.  We are all broken.  We are all sinners.  We are all empty without Christ.  And the only Hope we have is in Him.  Our Hope is NOT OF THIS WORLD.  Jesus' Kingdom is NOT OF THIS WORLD.  We believe in another world, a better day.  The work we do as the Church is about eternity.  It matters that much.

God never promises that we will escape the ugliness in this world.  He promises that He will sit with us and weep with us in it.  And I believe He is weeping with Newtown and the world.  He is there.  But -- He promises us that it won't last forever.  There is a better day if we will place our faith in Jesus.  Not if you're really good.  Not if you say your prayers every night.  Not if you attend church or eat all your vegetables.  God's love is made real in our lives through Jesus Christ.  He is THE Hope.  My prayer is that Christians all across our globe would spend every ounce of energy we have sharing this hope with every person we know.  It matters that much.  The world doesn't need our politics or our judgment.  The world needs our Jesus.  Times like these sure ought to remind us of that.