THE INCREDIBLE DEPTH and eternal riches of the new life found in Jesus Christ are those that he personally experienced in his initial human form. The agony that he suffered on the cross was preceded by a faith that saw beyond the cross. This clarity of sight, this dedicated focus on his Father’s will, sustained him throughout his entire mission and through its conclusion. One of the six messianic *Hallel Psalms says of him, “I have set the Lord always before me. Because you are at my right hand, I will not be shaken. You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life.” (Psa. 116:8-11) Despite the agony of the Via dolo Rosa, even the during the suffering of the last steps of his journey through this life, Jesus was perpetually driven by the strength of his Father. “The Lord is my strength. My heart leaps for joy. The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.” (Psa. 28:7-8) His last words as human were “It is finished.” (John 19:30) But these are not his last words, for he speaks eternally.
Our life journey includes trials and sufferings also. “For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.” (Job 5:6-7) The brother of the Lord, James, tells us to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2-3) Paul encourages us to “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:16-18) But these exhortations oftentimes fall short in the face of the occasional extreme pathos of life or the prickly daily obstacles to our faith that sometimes render us speechless. But reckon on this: God favors us, and he strengthens us. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Rom. 8:26)
The perseverance required of us to live a life pleasing to God is beyond what is capable of the human will. So the Holy Spirit has authored encouragement to us throughout the scriptures to sustain us. Through Paul, he invites us to explore a view beyond this life. “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Eph. 1:18-19) We see in this the power of the resurrected life of Jesus, and in him, the promise of our own eternal life. “That power is the working of God’s mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 2:6-7)
The inspired Hebrews’ author speaks clearly to the strength found in an earthly view of this sight. “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.” (Heb. 6:19-20) The Holy Spirit gives us the view beyond this world that strengthened our Lord Jesus, and in which Jesus is now established as our heavenly hope. “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:6-7)
It is in this great finished hope that we set our minds firmly on the daily steps of perseverance. Peter enjoins us to an intentional life of finished faith, anchored in Christ for a purpose. “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Pet. 3:15) Paul says that we make this difference in our own small universe of influence: “You shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.” (Phil. 2:15) The hope and the purpose that encourages us is based in the foundational strength of the resurrected life of Jesus, and sustains us daily. “God made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Cor. 5:5)
Q. Is my hope in this life built on nothing but the finished work of Jesus?
*The Hallel Psalms are Psalms 113-118. To state it simply, these are psalms of praise to God for the Messiah. Jews sing them at three of the holy festivals celebrated throughout the yearly calendar of feasts, including Pesach (Passover). Christians see them fulfilled in the life and ministry, and the death and resurrection, of Jesus Christ. Jesus and the disciples sang Psalm 118 on the night of the Last Supper.
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