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Discuss the SoulCare concept that Christianity is not about a better life; it is about a better hope.
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In the world, people generally wants to have a better life and worked towards this goal with worldly strategies but lives have its ups and downs. If our focus is just to get a better life, then we may be discouraged and depressed when we do not have it. God wants us to move instead to have a better hope, one that through the process of sanctification will make us more like Jesus, who endured hardship and learned obedience through all the trials to fulfil the destiny that he has come to do. As SoulCarer, we want to be curious about people’s story and point them towards brokenness and reliance on God.
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Although God has told us in the Bible what He is like and what we should become, He has not given us any simple formula that, if we did such-and-such a thing, we would enjoy a better life. In fact, the book of Job shows us that a man who obeys God can still be suffering in this life. Hence, neither does SoulCare try to move a person towards a better life. It tries to inspire a person towards the vision of a better hope that we can draw near to God (Hebrews 7:19).
#SoulCare
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I guess it’s not just about SoulCare. It’s about Christianity at its core. We will never be able to experience the fullness of God if we limit ourself to pursuing ‘a better life’. A ‘better life’ is self limiting by what our own ideas, feelings, emotions, capabilities, strengths, etc. are able to accomplish. A ‘better hope’ is the ultimate goal. It is what Jesus Christ died on the cross to make available to us. It is what God, in His love for us, created for us. A ‘better life’, on this earth is temporary and most often not even achievable. A ‘better hope’ has already been given to us with our only requirement being to believe and receive. A ‘better hope’ is eternity. SoulCarers must understand that we can never, in our own knowledge, power, expertise…help anyone achieve ‘a better life’ and we shouldn’t even try, knowing that God has so much better for them and for ourselves as well. Why even ‘try’ to settle for less than ‘a better hope’.
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A better life might be possible without the Spirit (flesh dynamics) but a better hope (life in Christ whatever circumstances we’re experiencing that may not change) is only possible with the Spirit (Spirit dynamics).
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if i think I want what I want and should get it and or advise others to find a fulfilling life for themselves by means of advice coming from me – I have totally missed the entire proverbial boat – the better hope is all about wanting what God wants and wills – when I get more of God I get way more than anything else I could experience – if I want a friendship w a special person I know in church, that is about me, not about God – I must ask God to connect me with others for His glory not my own – the hope we seek is an open ended entity that allows God to fill in the answer and the response from Him not the wish list that I might wrongly feel that I have a right to set before Him.