-
Discuss the SoulCare concept that Christianity is not about a better life; it is about a better hope.
-
Christianity is about our relationship with God. Our hope in this life is to know God better. We can want things to go well in our lives, but that is less important and really less satisfying than knowing and experiencing God more deeply.
-
A better life, where I get to define what good is, where I dictate what a better life is, won’t really satisfy and isn’t about getting to be with God.
A better hope is the understanding that God is dedicated to taking us closer to himself, forming us in the image of his Son, and he can do that even in circumstances what I don’t enjoy.
-
We were created in God’s image with the purpose of having a relationship with Him and the Trinity. This purpose is inherent in humans and causes them to seek this relationship. Mankind tries various strategies to secure this relationship, but it is elusive because of the rebellious state they are in. Until mankind returns to their creator, mankind cannot secure what they seek and cannot even identify what they are looking for. They spend their lives looking for what they don’t even know. They live in and through various stages of foolishness looking for what they believe to be a better life when in actuality they are looking for a better hope, which speaks to expectation and trust. These qualities can ONLY be found in God. God is very willing to give hope to us if and when we realize it is hope we are looking for and that it can ONLY be found in a relationship with Him.
-
We may all have our own vision of what a “better life” looks like, but the issue is that that only tends to be concerned about the things of this world, and only focuses on what we as individuals want for ourselves to make ourselves happier. The truth is, God wants more for us, He wants us to expirience deep relationship with Him, which is always better than anything we want to accomplish for ourselves.
-
This is a difficult concept to tell people.
We become Christians usually because we recognise our sins and need for God,
but we always end up asking the question “what good is God if he cannot help us get a better life?”
The problem lies in the fact that after we become Christians, we stop dealing with our own sins, and many of our problems, not all but many, are a result of our continued sinful behaviour, specifically the sinful ways we relate to one another.
But repentance and grace always brings us hope, because God can change us when we walk with him in faith and submission.
The Spirit can change us. But the Spirit works slowly. Therein lies the hope.