Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I again shall praise Him, my salvation and my God. (Ps. 42:5)
In my dark post yesterday, I highlighted the first part of this verse. Our broken hearts reflect the brokenness of our lives and the world at large. In them, we will not naturally find truth or hope, but deceit and condemnation. Our hearts are not reliable guides, but swim in the poison of human depravity. And yet, in plumbing the depths of such muck and mire, we can find hope, if we but lift our eyes to the heavens. The living God reigns, and in His wings, there is hope. The present realities of a world torn asunder and hearts that are cracked under the weight of sin need not define our lives. The future, when believers shall again praise the living God in Jesus Christ, casts its precious light upon the present darkness. That future is even now so palpable that we can call God "my salvation"--already our lives and hope are secured to Him in everlasting glory.
I wrestled over questions of hope and truth until midnight last night with a fellow extroverted soldier. His position reminds me of that of Pascal and his famous wager--he professes a belief in Jesus Christ in order to hedge his bets. It was what he was taught growing up and no one has disproved that Jesus is who He said He is. And with eternity at stake, who is this man to question what might be his only lifeline? He also has perceived miracles in the past that indicates to him that God or some other benevolent power exists.
As we are both extroverts, our conversation bounced in every direction and lacked a clear, linear, logical trajectory. My basic point was that a basic intellectual assent to Jesus Christ as a probable theory is not an adequate ground for one's hope (indeed, he has no assurance of his own salvation). In addition, miracles--whether they be authentic or not--are not ground for one's salvation, which comes by faith, not by sight. Even the demons believe, and they shudder. On the day mankind put Jesus Christ on trial in Jerusalem, we did not marvel at His miracles, but cried "Crucify Him!" Whether exposed to miracles or ordinary acts of God's benevolent providence, these signs serve only to condemn us in our hatred of God. Our only hope is to embrace Christ as the Savior of sinners--of whom we are the worst. We must embrace the fact that He took the most vile act that mankind could perpetrate against the living God and made it the foundation of God's mercy to His rebel creatures. We must forsake our false notions of self-righteousness and embrace the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
We bookmarked this conversation at midnight. This soldier is a bit surprised that I am being so tough on him, considering what he considers to be a similar position to mine, but I am not eager to baptize a counterfeit hope that will create a false sense of comfort. Christ did not claim to be "a way, a probable truth, a possible life," but claimed to be "the way, the truth, the life." This soldier believes that there was some sort of providential reason he was put on our deployment roster (all other units rejected him, though he has impeccable credentials). My hope is that he is right, and I told him this last night: "Maybe this is the year where you stop hedging your bets and actually make Christ the Lord of your life." Pray it is so.
