Everyday, life becomes harder and painful to live by. At the start of the year, we have heard so much news of tragedies, disasters and conflicts which brought despair and suffering for many people. Today, many of us find ourselves gripped with fear and anxiety because of the current global pandemic. For some, they must either face death itself or live life knowing that people they love have already passed away. Suffering is a reality and no simple philosophical explanation or clever judgement can clearly speak to what people face everyday. We may find ourselves hoping that life will get better soon. But for many people, they don’t know where to find that hope or if there is any of it left.
In John 11, we can see Jesus wept for Lazarus’s death before bringing Him back to life again. This shows God’s empathy and that He mourns for our personal sufferings. Because of His love for us, He promises salvation for everyone who believes in Him as promised by Christ in verses 25 and 26. The Bible reminds that our hope is anchored on the death and resurrection of Jesus. If we know God can bring dead people back to life again, we can trust Him that He can also restore brokenness in our life because of His unconditional love for us.
As a follower of Christ, I believe that hope shouldn’t be mere optimism. This hope can be seen in Christ’s life as He lived with us as a human being, died through suffering on the cross and resurrected on the third day defeating death. We must remind ourselves of the significance of what Christ has done for it is a critical part in the Christianity. 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 reminds us about the significance of Christ’s resurrection in our faith. Without Christ resurrecting from the dead, our faith is in vain and we would still be dead in our sins.
1 John 5:11-12 reminds us that God has given us eternal life through Christ and only through Christ we will be able to attain eternal life. John 3:16 and Romans 6:23 tells us that God loves us so much that He allowed Jesus to suffer and die for our sins so that we don’t have to bear the punishment ourselves. There are thousands of verses and promises in the Bible which points to God’s ultimate message of salvation for everyone and it is important to understand that our faith relies on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of what Christ has done, we can have hope as we face an uncertain future ahead of us.
Even if we do not have all the answers for life, we can be reminded of God’s promises in His word. It says in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” When we put our hope on God, we can trust Him that He will deliver us from whatever situation we are in for we know that He is working for the eternal good. It also says in Revelation 21:4, “and He will wipe every ear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” God promises renewal and restoration for whatever brokenness we have in our life.
As we observe this lent season, let us not forget what Jesus has done for us to give us salvation. We can trust God because of what Jesus has done. His resurrection shows that the physical death we face is not the end and suffering is only temporal. God uses pain for a purpose and no matter how painful it is, God invites us to seek hope and refuge in Him as He promises restoration and redemption. Christ’s life and death in this world is a way of God telling us that He is with us in our sufferings and He invites us to know Him as our personal Lord and Savior to find truth and meaning for our life.
Story by Elmark Corpuz, Titans Batch 2018
Comments