Letter from Exile 13
God’s Word: 1 John 3: 1-3
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Reflection:
John Newton is famous for two things. 1) He wrote the timeless hymn, Amazing Grace. And 2) before his conversion to Christ, he was steep in the African slave trade as a captain of a ship which transported slaves.
Newton is really interesting to me because he was super dialed into how “bad” of a person he was. In our modern culture, nobody thinks they are a “bad” person. We might do bad things on occasion, but otherwise, we think that we at least have a “good heart.” John Newton would have disagreed. He simply could not shake the awful things in his life. When he looked back on his life, he saw too much blood.
“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”
This is why Newton’s writings and music are so touching. He is so grateful. He is so hopeful. Newton just can’t get over why God would save a wretch like him! He is speechless!
He once wrote: “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”
I think this glimpse into Newton’s heart captures the sentiment of what the Apostle John is teaching us. We are children of God. Yes, we are a mess. No, we did not “work” for the right to become children. We are children of God by His sheer grace. Nevertheless, we are not what we will be. Although we are children of God, there is a gap between what we are now, and what we hope to be one day.
But here’s the thing: that “hope” is the active ingredient for growth. Our hope puts our longings and desires on a trajectory of change, maturity, and growth. For instance, if I hope to be a good piano player, then it shapes my desires right now. I am not presently a good piano player, but my hope drives me to sit down today and practice. See how this works?
Hope is the active ingredient for growth. Our hope puts our longings and desires on a trajectory of change, maturity, and growth.
My fear with quarantines and curfews is that we stop “hoping”. Or perhaps our “hope” becomes trite. Instead of hoping to become like Christ, we “hope” to finish the mini-series on Netflix by Friday, so that we can start a new one. Our dreams and hope become so ordinary. Because we can’t leave our house, our fervor to embrace our identity as a “child of Christ” becomes muted.
Listen Trinity, was last week a bad one for you? Were you cynical, apathetic, or indulgent? I want you to look back on it and see “blood.” Not like John Newton though. I want you to see Christ’s blood covering it all, giving you a new day to love Him.
Let’s make this week better than last week. Let’s step into our identity. By God’s grace, He made you a privileged member of his family. Let hope saturate your soul and put you on a new trajectory.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, when I am truly honest about how I spend my days, it would be hard to convict me before a jury as being a committed son of yours. I am sorry. I repent of it. I really am astonished that you have saved me. Spirit, put a new hope in my soul and set my longings towards heaven. I pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Praying outside of ourselves:
Pray for wisdom for health organizations as they provide public guidance.
Pray for parents who are wearing thin with homeschool.
Pray for disciples of Christ to lean into their identity as children of God.
Pray that those in our church family who have been exposed to the COVID-19 or have symptoms would not have the virus.