Only the Ignorant are Hopeless

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1 Thessalonians 4:13

Only The Ignorant Are Hopeless

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

P

erhaps no more sublime words have ever been written than those which Paul wrote to a congregation of Christians wondering about what lies beyond the grave.  Perhaps no more comforting words have ever been written for the comfort of the child of God wondering about the eternal home.  Which person present today has not wondered what it will be when death comes?  Which home represented among us has not known the dark intrusion of the last enemy and wondered of the departed loved one?  Who among us has not pondered what lies beyond this moment we call life?

            I had been in Canada only a few months when my stepmother phoned our Burnaby home one January evening.  "Mike," she stated in her characteristically simple, direct manner, "your father is dead."  The words stunned me; I felt disoriented, as if the ground had suddenly disappeared beneath my feet.  I had just spoken with him a few days before that call and had spent a day with him only two months previous when I had travelled back to Texas to pick up a car which we had left behind.  His death, separated from this present moment by almost twenty years, has left a void in my life.  I loved my father deeply.  He had been a source of strength and stability, providing guidance throughout the stormy years of my youth.  He had taught me the Word of God from my youth, instilled in me a love for the hymns of Zion, and instructed me in righteousness and forgiveness.  And now I was told that he was absent from the body.

            I did not despair, however, for my dad had likewise taught me to live in anticipation of something better than what this life can ever afford.  He had insisted that I was not to sorrow or grieve like the rest of men who have no hope.  Since that late evening phone call I have endured the home going of others of my family.  Aunt Sis, at once gruff and gentle, and deeply loved; Grandma Nellie, hard as nails on the exterior and tender as a lily inside; Uncle Glen, always filled with hope despite the hardships of life; each alike exited this life having professed faith in the Living Christ who conquered death and brought life and immortality to light.  Each transition in its own way left a greater void in my heart.  Likewise, each transition has lessened the fear of the crossing, creating a deepening interest in knowing about that eternal home.  For I also must one day make the crossing, being changed into the likeness of Christ.  So, instead of being filled with dread I find increasingly that I am filled with hope.  In fact, I boldly say that only the ignorant are hopeless.

Ignorance and Its Impact — Ignorance is a dreadful condition for any individual.  I recall a story written by a grieving man whose father had died because he was illiterate.  Diagnosed with a heart condition which was nevertheless treatable with medication, the old man had dutifully gone to the pharmacy to purchase the necessary medication to treat his condition.  His son found him dead shortly after he had purchased the medication.  Clutched in his hand was the bottle of pills – unopened.  The story of those last terrifying moments was evident to everyone surveying the scene.

The old man’s shirt was ripped from his trousers and the buttons were torn off as evidence of the futile violence with which he had attempted to obtain oxygen.  The old man’s fingernails were broken and the cap of the bottle bore evidence of violent assault.  The label of the childproof bottle advised that one needed but to push down the lid and twist to open the bottle of medication.  However, the old man could not read.

            It is one thing to be handicapped through lack of education … terrible though such condition may be.  It is another thing entirely to be unaware and uninformed of the great issues of life.  Ignorance can be deadly.  Paul warns that he does not wish his readers to be ignorant and in particular he endeavours to avert ignorance concerning those who have passed beyond the realm of this moment which we call life.  The Apostle acknowledges the grief and of the hopelessness which can result from such ignorance.  Consider the consequence arising from ignorance of the future in four areas of life.

            Ignorance of our future focuses our gaze on temporal matters.  Each of us builds our own memorials while living.  Were the memory of Terry Fox dependent upon a statue his name would already be forgotten by most Canadians.  Indeed, the statuary which was erected in the plaza before GM Place in Vancouver was defaced and marred by thoughtless individuals passing by within a year of being erected.  Nevertheless, the impact of his life continues and shall continue for days to come.  A life lived without regard for the moment will have an impact far beyond anything we might imagine.

            Life is not lived alone and in isolation.  We exert influence over others and our influence continues long after we depart this earthly realm.  The great tragedy of being focused only on this life is that any memorial we leave behind is a testimony to our poverty.  Possessing many goods and great wealth, we may nevertheless be impoverished toward God.  In his first letter to the Corinthian church the great Apostle testifies: If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men [1 Corinthians 15:19].

            What a pitiful situation prevails for that man or that woman who lives only for this life.  The moment rules their life and they erect no great, lasting memorial.  How tragic the life lived without thought to the consequence of our influence over others.  What awful power we exert through our ignorance!  The witness to the focus of our vision is everywhere about us.  Cast your gaze in any direction and you will witness energies invested in the transient and lives invested for the moment.  Lands and houses and cars and acquisitions destined for dust are the momentary monuments erected by those about us … and are the sole monuments even of some naming the Name of Christ.

            You will recall that Paul, writing the Corinthian church, cited words which Isaiah had directed to Israel, then enmeshed in a hedonistic lifestyle.

If the dead are not raised,

“Let us eat and drink,

for tomorrow we die”

[1 Corinthians 15:32].

Indeed, if we live for this life alone it is reasonable to accumulate all the goods we can gather.  In fact, if this life is all there is we are compelled to acquire all the comforts possible and to make every effort to insure that we are comforted now, for this is all there is.  The ad which instructed mankind You only go around once, so grab all the gusto you can, assumes the status of a prophecy for those ignorant of the future.

            Ignorance of our future distorts our vision of work offered up to Christ.  Should we be ignorant of the plans God has for us both as individuals and as a community of Faith, we cannot understand the importance of our work for Christ now.  In that instance we tend to consider our labours as largess given in a magnanimous gesture to a God compelled to accept whatever we may deem worthy of His Name.  When we fail to remember that we must give an account to Him who holds our times we forget those stunning words delivered by Jesus to His disciples, and which consequently confront all who would call themselves by His Name.

            Suppose one of you had a servant ploughing or looking after the sheep.  Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, “Come along now and sit down to eat”?  Would he not rather say, “Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink”?  Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?  So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty”  [Luke 17:7-10].

            What we do, the work we perform and the labours we now invest are not mere sops offered to Christ.  Our labours are a sacred responsibility for those redeemed from death and freed from fear of the tomb.  When we neglect the coming life, we drift almost unconsciously into a form of thinking which begins to view our service in Christ’s Name as something for which God ought to be grateful.  Unaware of what shall be we become consumed with the moment and begin to live in the now.  Yet, there is a day coming in which we must each render an account of our labours and in which our attitudes and motives for service will be revealed.

            Ignorance of our future distracts us from witnessing vigorously now.  There is an ancient Spanish proverb which warns that The road of by-and-by leads to the house of never.  Once we have begun to live for the moment we feel no compunction concerning our witness to others.  We begin to rationalise that there is always time to speak of Christ or to warn of unpleasant possibilities such as judgement to come.  “Later,” we say, “mañana, tomorrow.”  Should we permit ourselves to become consumed with preparation for this life there is little need to concern ourselves about preparation for the life to come.

            I cannot speak of our responsibility to witness to the grace of God without recalling the account of the lepers who found the camp of the besieging Aramean army empty.  You will perhaps recall the story which is recorded in 2 Kings 7:1 ff. and the conclusion which those lepers reached when they discovered the camp deserted and the abundance of food left by the fleeing army.  Then they said to each other, ‘We're not doing right.  This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves.  If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us.  Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace”  [2 Kings 7:9].  They were unable to maintain silence when their knowledge would spell relief from the crushing famine.  Fortune compelled them to inform the starving inhabitants of the city of their find … of the relief in the deserted camp.

            Are you a Christian?  Have you experienced the forgiveness of sin?  Have you discovered the grace of God in Christ?  Do you imagine that God saved you only so you could consume His grace on yourself?  Was it not to His glory that He freed you from condemnation?  Was it not that you might tell others that He left you here?  If you understand the glory which shall be ours and if you are aware of the coming kingdom which He has prepared for those who know Him, you can do nothing other than speak of Christ, witnessing to His grace and warning of His judgement for all who reject Him.

            Ignorance of our future dictates excessive grief.  If we live for this life alone, disregarding what God has prepared for those who love Him, we shall find that all is wrapped up in the moment.  When we die there remains nothing but grief and sorrow and sadness and misery.  How foolish we are if we live only for the moment.

            I read of a man in west Texas who directed that he was to be buried sitting in his beloved automobile … a luxury edition Cadillac.  The grave was opened and the car was readied to be lowered into the scarred earth.  As the luxury car, containing the mortal remains of the wealthy Texan seated in the drivers seat, was lowered into the ground, a bystander was heard to exclaim, “Man, what a way to go!”  May I say that it matters not whether one is buried in a cardboard box or in a Corvette, whether one is buried in a Lexus or wrapped in a sheet, if one lives for this life alone all is lost at death.

            If the sum of one’s investment is defined by this transient existence then death spells fini for that individual.  With death all hope dies if this life is all that one has lived for.  This challenging truth is the basis for Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:19-21.  You will no doubt recall His challenge to all who would be His disciples: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

            Each of us is now laying up treasures.  Our treasures are either located where entropy prevails or where another and an eternal reality holds sway.  Investing in the former, we lose all at death and excessive grief shall assuredly mark the loss of all we know for every exit from this life will serve as sobering reminder that the things we have deemed most precious are not eternal.  On the other hand, investing in the latter we gain everything at the time of our transformation, and every exit from this moment called life serves to remind us of the wisdom of our preparation.  My dear people, I urge you to invest in eternity.  I urge you to make preparation so that when the black Friday comes and when the black camel kneels at your tent you shall neither despair nor lose hope.

 

Hope and Its Impact — The informed Christian is characterised by exuberant, irrepressible hope.  That hope which defines the life of the believer is not a Pollyannaish wish … a mere whistling in the dark.  Ours is not wishful thinking; rather the hope of which the Bible speaks is the expression of confidence in One who has revealed Himself as dependable and able to do what He has promised.  Even in the face of death, the last enemy, the Christian need neither despair nor surrender to hopeless grief.

I am compelled to address the issue of sorrow at the passing of our loved ones.  Jesus does not expect that we will be automatons expressing no emotion at the separation which death brings.  At the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus wept.  The tears of the Master give evidence that sorrow is not of itself a sign of weakness.  If the Master felt the sharp pain which death brings, then we who follow Him are assuredly permitted to sorrow at the death of those we love.  It is not tears which are proscribed, it is the sense of hopeless grief in the face of sorrow which God speaks against.

Dr. George Truett stood on one occasion at the bedside of a dying child together with a godly mother and a father who had chosen to live his life without regard either for God or for eternal matters.  That father wept and wept at the thought of separation from his beloved daughter.  “Goodbye,” he wailed.  “I’ll never see you again.”  And he sobbed pathetically and bitterly at the thought that he was forever separated from the little girl.

The mother, a Christian devoted to the things of God, also spoke her farewell.  That mother said, “Goodnight, darling.  Mother will see you in a little while.”  That mother also wept, but without the raw abandon of the child’s father who had no hope concerning the future.  Hope characterised the mother at the bedside of the dying child.  She felt sorrow, but hope buoyed her up in the storm.  There was no support for the father, for there was no future of which he was aware.

In the face of death the pagan has no defiant challenge such as the Christian who cries, O death, where is your victory [1 Corinthians 15:55].  The contrast between the gloomy despair of the heathen and the triumphant hope of the Christian mourner is nowhere more forcibly brought out than by their monumental inscriptions.  Contrast, despite the pomp and outward splendour of heathen monuments, the expressions of despair affixed to pagan tombs to the expressions of confidence written on the monuments of Christians.

Hope insures that our gaze is fixed on what is permanent.  The ancient hymn writer lamented: Change and decay in all around I see.  It is true that this life is characterised by impermanence.  At the best we are compelled to confess that this life is transient.  We moan at the thought that there is nothing permanent in this world.  Precious metals corrode and rust, currencies are devalued with alarming ease, houses and lands require constant attention and maintenance, all things seem held fast in the destructive, downward sway exerted by entropy.

There is a difference in the expectation of the Christian.  Having fixed his eyes on Christ the great God and coming Saviour, the child of God anticipates something better and eternal which the earth dweller can never look for.  I am so often encouraged by the words of an unknown author who wrote concerning our need to focus on Jesus.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [Hebrews 12:2].  This Jesus, who we call Lord and Saviour, this Jesus who has mastered us and who has redeemed us, this same Jesus is the author and Perfecter of our faith.

Another verse which has often encouraged me greatly when the pressures of this life grew intense and threatened to overwhelm me is Hebrews 11:27b.  That verse, speaking of Moses, encourages each believer to ensure that the focus of his or her gaze is the ever-living One who never changes.  He persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.  Who or what occupies your thoughts and attention?  Hope adjusts your gaze so that you will look toward that which is permanent.

Hope clarifies our vision so that we may work for Christ without hindrance.  Do you recall the words of the wise man in Ecclesiastes 11:4?

Whoever watches the wind will not plant;

Whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

When our gaze is fixed on that which is impermanent, on that which is ever changing, we arrange our labours to accommodate that rapidly and ever changing situation.  This is a world marked by constant change.  I am only slightly more than a half-century old, and few things which characterised life during my childhood are identical to what they were then.  Nor is it only technology which causes change.  Attitudes change and methods change.  All life seems to be under a law which ensures that the residents of this world are always slightly off balance.

The task which is assigned to me as a Christian (and the task which is assigned to you as a Christian) is accepted with a view to its impact on eternity.  Few of us will see the full impact of our ministry in this life.  If we are focused only on this life we will quite possibly feel ourselves to have been failures.  Yet, we live by faith, not by sight.  Therefore, we are always confident in the knowledge that God Himself takes notice of our labours in His Name and for His sake.

I sometimes grow discouraged when I extend an invitation to obey Christ and to obey His call only to see that few respond to that invitation to life.  I remind myself that I am not working to obtain man’s praise but to fulfil this ministry which Christ assigned.  I am confident that the final accounting awaits transformation and translation to heaven itself where I shall appear before the judgement seat of Christ.  Before that Judgement Seat I want to hear those words, Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your Master’s happiness [Matthew 25:21]!

You, whatever gift God may have given you and whatever task He may have assigned, fulfil your duty working with all the energy Christ gives, knowing that the impact of your labours will not be seen yet.  If you remain focused on the world to come you will not being to labour in a haphazard manner or in a lackadaisical fashion.  Then, on that great day when all the saints are assembled before the Bema Seat of Christ, you, to say nothing of me as your pastor, will have nothing of which to be ashamed.

Hope encourages us to witness vigorously now.  The inhabitants of this world live lives of quiet desperation and in marked fear.  Like a small boy walking past a graveyard at night the inhabitants of this dark world whistle bravely even as their hearts pound out a frightened tattoo.  If they should permit themselves to consider the future they would cry out in a mad wail.  The present is unsettling enough, but to think of the great beyond is too awesome to even consider.  If there is a God, then what?  If there is justice, then what?  If there is an accounting, then what?  The questions cause the thoughtful pagan to quail and quiver at the mere thought of what must yet be.

The Christian is moved with compassion as he focuses on that bright tomorrow promised by Him who went into the grave and made it a pleasant place to await the resurrection.  The believer grieves over the fearful judgements awaiting the inhabitants of this dark world, and knowing the contrast between the terror of the sinner and the joy of the believer the child of God is compelled to speak to outsiders as he recites the promises of God.  We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.  Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.  What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience [2 Corinthians 5:10,11].

Who is a Christian today because of your witness?  To whom did you speak in this week past concerning the grace of God and of judgement to come?  Whom did you point to Christ and to whom did you minister in His Name in the days which are just past?  How can it be that we who are called by the Name of Christ can live our lives as though our Faith were inconsequential?  May I plainly say that if you have not spoken to another of your Faith in such a long time that you cannot remember the last time you did so, you need to be ashamed of your failure to live openly as a Christian.  Focused on the future, living with the hope of heaven shining on our faces, we will be invited and impelled to witness to the grace of God revealed in Christ the Lord.

Hope sets us free form excessive grief.  The main thrust of the message is this: Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope.  We grieve, but we need not grieve like the rest of men; we are not hopeless.  Paul in Romans 8:22-25 spoke of the current situation and of the transformation which we anticipate.  We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved.  But hope that is seen is no hope at all.  Who hopes for what he already has?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

John Wesley said of the early Methodists, Our people die well.  Christians should die well if they lived well.  If the child of God has lived for the world to come and has lived to please Him who is Lord, then the child of God should die well.  Knowing that those we love have lived their lives to please Christ, and knowing that He has faithfully promised

Never will I leave you;

Never will I forsake you

[Hebrews 13:5]

the child of God will not surrender to despair at the thought of death … if only that believer is focused on what God has promised.  Neither will we give in to excessive grief when loved ones pass beyond this vale.  Our loved ones are not deserted at death; they are nearer to Christ at then than ever as they are borne on angel wings to the heavenly realms.  What comfort is provided for us in the account which appears in Jesus words in Luke 16:22.  The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.

It is otherwise for the pagan … for those who have invested everything in this moment called life.  Though Bildad was a miserable comforter to Job, he nevertheless spoke words which are pointedly apt for those bound to this earth.

Such is the destiny of all who forget God;

so perishes the hope of the godless.

What he trusts in is fragile;

what he relies on is a spider’s web.

He leans on his web, but it gives way;

he clings to it, but it does not hold.

He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,

spreading its shoots over the garden;

it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks

and looks for a place among the stones.

But when it is torn from its spot,

that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’

Surely its life withers away,

and from the

soil other plants grow.

[Job 8:13-19]

How grim!  How utterly and darkly grim the prospect of man without Christ!  Indeed, such a one lives without hope and without God in the world, and he must die likewise.

Expo 86 was a great experience for everyone privileged to live in Vancouver at that time.  As the great world exposition drew to a close, I, together with a great many British Columbians, regretted that I had not attended more often during the months it was open.  I have delightful memories of many of the pavilions.  One pavilion in particular made an indelible imprint on my memory.  The pavilion was that of the Northwest Territories.  The twenty-five thousand inhabitants of that vast, barren land hosted that pavilion.  I honestly did not expect much when we attended the pavilion.

In the outer area of the pavilion were the requisite items of commerce offered by the people of that territory – fur coats, gemstones set in beautiful handmade jewellery, and delicately beaded handmade footwear.  There were no exhibits of transportation which an inhabitant of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia would desire, although there were dog sled and snowshoes on display.  Then we entered into the theatre where we saw a multimedia show of life in the Territories.  The landscape presented on the screen was bleak and the audience for the most part shivered at the sound of howling winds combined with the sight of vast expanses of snow and windswept rock.

What impressed me was that throughout the presentation was a warm, cheery voice which spoke of the beauty of solitude which one could find in that vast land.  The speaker spoke of simple joys of watching the wildlife live free and unfettered and which spoke of the richness of the land.  I shall never forget the final slide shown on the main screen.  It showed Yellowknife at mid-day in December.  The lights were haloed in the mid-winter gloom and the softly falling snow.  The young Inuit had spoken of his homeland to that point, bravely doing the impossible – selling his home to an unappreciative audience.  At the last he simply said, This is my home, and his voice choked as he added, I miss it so much.  The words were unrehearsed, spontaneous, unexpected, and they were spoken with such evident emotion that there was not a dry eye in the audience.

I’ve spoken today of my homeland.  I’ve never been there, but I am homesick.  I’ve not seen that land, but I am more certain of its existence that I am about the existence of Canada.  I’ve not walked its streets, but I know much about it for the Great King of that land has told me what it is like.  Though I have not bathed my weary feet in its waters that land increasingly beckons me.  Waiting to greet me there is a loving father who first taught me the Word and to the end of his days instilled hope in my soul.  On the beautiful shore is a precious granddad and loving grandma who remained true to the Faith and who preceded me there.  There, waiting to greet me are a precious aunt and uncle who loved me dearly and who confessed Christ through my witness to them.  These are some of the precious loved ones who make that land more precious still for me.

Precious as the prospect of seeing these dear family members may be, more precious still is the knowledge that Jesus waits to greet me there.  He promised me, In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am [John 14:2,3].  He has been my constant companion for over thirty years; and with every passing year I grow fonder of the thought that I shall be with Him forever.  Though I do not relish the thought of dying, the experience of passing through the suffering which often attends that event, I no longer fear death.  Death is a servant sent to carry me home.  Heaven is my homeland, and I miss it so much.

When I go, I would that I could know that each of you should likewise be prepared for that eternal home.  When I go, I would that I could present you to Christ as a chaste bride, dressed and prepared for Him.  When I go, and one day should Christ tarry I shall indeed pass through the chilly waters of death, I would that it were with the certain knowledge that each of you will meet me there.  I urge you to make preparation now for that transition which must come to each of us.  I urge you with all the energy of Christ which works so powerfully in me to this day that you make your confession as you trust Christ.  Be saved today and be prepared for that glorious coronation day when you shall be presented together with all the saints before His throne.

Hear again the familiar words which serve as our invitation.  Believe Christ and be saved while it is today.  If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].  Amen.

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