6.19.24
This week we are looking at how that living in the tension of being between two worlds provides the resources that we need to stand in the midst of trials and hard times. And the tension comes in that we are residents of this world, the city of man. And yet we are citizens of another world, the city of God.
But how does that tension help us stand in hard times? The Bible tells us that these cities are perpetually in conflict with one another. The draw of this world is to believe that we can find life on our own, in the things we can do and experience. And the call of the city of God is to live under the authority of our Creator.
And when you resolve that tension, you lose the ability to stand in the midst of trials. If our real home is here on earth, then hard things become our greatest enemy. They rob us of the very source of life itself. And therefore, they can destroy us. And if we are only living for the next world, the problems and struggles of this life will be seen as nothing for us to engage in - there is nothing for us to fight against - because it’s not our problem, not our struggle. But in both cases, suffering is pointless.
But what the writer here calls us to, is to “bear the disgrace” of this life. Why? Because he says, we don’t have an enduring city. In other words, the notion that if only Christians were in power, then the world would be a heaven on earth and everything would be made right, is a view that goes against the teachings of Scripture. Because we’re told that we will never be at home here. We will never fit in. Our values will never resonate with those of this world.
And so, like Jesus, we are called to openly bear the disgrace of not fitting in. We don’t run from it. We don’t hide in communes to be free from its entanglements. We don’t fight with politics to win. We simply bear the disgrace of being residents of this world, but citizens of another. And we do so, not only because God calls us to this kind of humility (as we’ve seen, to strip us of our pride, fears, cowardice, etc)…but because (we will see this tomorrow) this is what also helps provide healing and hope for a world gone mad.
Only as we live in that tension can we see that our struggles are redemptive (both for us and for the world), yet they’re not ultimate. Our hard times are real and painful, but God uses them for a redemptive purpose. And yet, those struggles aren’t the end of our story. They don’t define us. Because our real citizenship is in heaven. And the place we fit in and find joy is still coming. This allows us to “bear the disgrace” without crumbling under the weight of life’s struggles.
Today’s challenge: how well are you bearing the disgrace of being a follower of Jesus?