The road ahead

To be honest these last three days have been discouraging.  I had hoped, "expected", to do better, be better and I was not.  I wasn't able to coach soccer this morning (Thanks Joe for your help) and I saw a guy out riding his bike with all his bike stuff on, same color as mine and thought, "I wonder if I'll ever be able to do that again."  I have a hard time not thinking about 8 more times, 16 more weeks.  Then there is the thought of what if the cancer comes back in six months.  I know, bad thoughts.  Need to live in the day.

In the midst of my pessimism a friend reminded me of a passage in Luke 9.  After he feeds the five thousand with a few fish and loaves of bread, is transfigured before Peter, James and John on the mountain, appearing in his glory with Moses and Elijah and then heals a epileptic/demon possessed son for a father we are told about Jesus in v. 51: "When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem."  The days of happy ministry were over, now was the time for our Lord to begin his journey to Jerusalem where he "would be taken up", that is, he would be betrayed, tortured, and crucified.  In that crucifixion he would suffer all of God's furious wrath against all the sins of all who were to trust in him.  He set his face to go to Jerusalem so he could go to hell for us.

He knew exactly what awaited him.  Just before this, on the mountain of transfiguration he had told Peter, James and John (v.22), "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."  He knew and yet he set his face to go there.  He became resolute and determined to reach the bitter end.  Again, we ask, how did Jesus, who was fully human like you and I do this?  He did it for "the joy set before him" (Heb. 12:2).  He did it because he knew that God would never let his "Holy One see decay" and that "in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:10-11).  He did it because he knew that his Father was going to glorify him in his presence with the same glory he had prior to his coming to earth to walk down this lonely, bitter road (John 17:5).  He was able to do the hardest thing that any human, any being has ever done, to suffer the wrath of God for the sins of others because of his confidence that what lay on the other side was infinitely superior to the sufferings endured to obtain it.

The same promises are held out to every suffering Christian.  Here again is one of my favorites: "Therefore, we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  Therefore, we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen because what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal."  Here is a good word for me.  This is the road God has called me to walk down so I must set my face to do so.  I must not lose heart.  These are but light and momentary troubles (especially in comparison to what my Lord suffered) and they are, like his sufferings before me, achieving, producing an eternal glory that is far superior to this pain. 

So Lord, grant that my eyes might be fixed on that coming, eternal world of glory and not on this temporary world of trouble.  Forgive me for not following faithfully, resolutely in my Savior's footsteps.  Thank you that my future is secure because of what he suffered and not because of my faithfulness.  Amen.