Since the fall of man (Genesis 3:6), mankind has been facing life’s disappointments. Living in a fallen world has been difficult. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). All creation was made to worship its creator. When sin entered into the world, death and destruction gained a foothold. It is only after God’s judgement on sin in this world, that the world will learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9). We need faith, hope and love from God to sustain us in our fallen state.
Living in a Fallen World
We are told, life may have its rough spots, but the reality of Christ’s presence and blessing can so thrill our soul that pain is virtually unfelt. It simply isn’t necessary to wrestle with internal struggle and disorder. Just trust, surrender, preserver and obey. The effect of such teaching is to blunt the painful reality of what it’s like to live as part of an imperfect fallen world. We learn to pretend that we feel now what we cannot feel until Heaven.
The effect of widespread pretence, whether maintained by rigidly living on the surface of life or by being consumed with emotionalism, has been traumatic of the Church. Rather than being salt and light to a hurting world we suppress the unpleasantness. We refuse to grapple honestly with the experience of life and demand protection from further disappointment. We are not able to bear one another’s burdens.
Our Lord came to bring Life
Our Lord came to bring life. We can possess His life now and look forward to enjoying perfect life later. Between the time when He gives us life and the time when He provides all the joys His life brings, He intends to change us into a people who can more deeply enjoy Him now and represent Him well to others. A change that flows from the inside out.
Change from the inside out involves a gradual shift away from self-protecting relating to strongly loving involvement. And in order to make that change, we must feel our disappointment as a longing person and face the sin in our heart that results in commitment to self-protection. If something is from God, it will inevitably promote the character of Christ in those who embrace it.
Confusion and Disappointment
Confusion should lead not to bitterness and discouragement, but to faith. God is still at work, requiring nothing of us we cannot do, moving through the wreckage of our life to achieve His good purpose. Our faith is often weak, but the kind of faith that develops to support us through time of overwhelming confusion is strong and resilient.
Disappointment can paralyze us so thoroughly that we won’t move toward people for fear of getting hurt again. But disappointment can drive us to hope. If we remain aware of all our heart longs for, even when we’ve badly hurt, then the prospect of one day being with Christ can become an alluring passion, a solid anchor that keeps us steady in the worst storms of rejection.
When we become sensitive to the subtle violation of love involved in our self-protected style of relating we’ll feel overwhelmed with personal sinfulness. The love that grows out of deep repentance over self-protective sin is penetrating and rich.
Conviction leads to Love
Confusion breeds faith; disappointment drives us to hope; conviction leads to love. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians “And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three” (1Corinthians 13:13).