Hope, Pumpkins, and Snotty Noses

Random thoughts after studying from Hebrews 2:5-9... So you have this passage that speaks of Jesus in two separate “times”, if you will allow me that. We have Jesus “a little lower than the angels” (VV. 7, 9), referring to His sojourn on earth as the God-man. We also have Jesus “crowned with glory and honor” (V. 9), referring to His exalted state. As both Creator and future Conqueror, Jesus is ruler over the earth and all of creation. In the exalted state, I would like to focus for just a bit here on his future return. In that, we have Jesus represented in what I like to call a Lamb vs. Lion contrast. Jesus was the Lamb of God in His humanity as He came to die on a cross. He will return as the Lion of Judah when He comes to conquer and reclaim what is His rightful inheritance. In a nutshell, you have Jesus existing on two entirely different levels. Honestly, they are almost polar opposites if you think about it. Of course, we can say that in His sacrifice He is a conqueror, but I’m looking at this in a bit more raw form and I want to keep these two “activities” of Jesus separate for the time being and to make a point. When you look at Jesus as a suffering servant in the past and as a warlord in the future, we find a certain tension. It’s a little like the tension I feel as a pastor and as a man of peace, yet I carry a gun and humbly consider myself ready to use it if the need arises. The tension when we consider the power of Jesus in His current state is different though. We aren’t talking about a person making a choice and balancing out beliefs here. If we’re being honest, don’t we sometimes ask ourselves if God/Jesus is so all-fired awesome and powerful, why don’t they just come on back now and get rid of evil and take us all home? Why all of the suffering, evil, war, and death RIGHT NOW? Why does evil HAVE to exist right now? The so-called Problem of Evil is one that has plagued the minds of Christians and atheists for hundreds of years. In fact, this is a major detraction by atheists from any belief in God that they may have. Atheists say that if God is so loving and compassionate, He would do something about evil in this world, right? I have a confession to make. Get ready for it. Are you sitting down? Here it goes: I see their point. It’s actually a PRETTY good point, if you take it at face value. The problem with this approach to the compassion of God is that it doesn’t go very deep. It’s one of those questions that only asks the questions and doesn’t wait for the answer. Are there answers to this question? Yes, there are. Do Christians sometimes give really stupid and vapid answers to this question? Yes, they do. (Disclosure: I just Googled the word “vapid” to be sure I used it correctly in a sentence…seems legit). So how do Christians often answer this question? The absolute dumbest response (even though it’s true) is to say something like, “Well, we aren’t God, so we can’t question God’s wisdom.” Okay. While I agree that this statement is technically true, there is a measure of laziness in it for some people that I just can’t get around. It’s a lot like saying, “God said it, so that settles it”. So what would be DEEPER answers to the question that might go beyond this watered-down, hippified, bumper sticker theology (yes, “hippified” is a word. It might be a Dave-ism, but it’s a word). Can we just have a little real talk here? I mean, let’s just be totally honest and take a look at the answer to this question with a dose of reality. Parenting today is not what it used to be. There was a day when parents let kids play in the dirt without bathing them in hand sanitizer. There was a time when parents told their kids that they didn’t get a trophy in soccer this year because their kids really weren’t very good at soccer (well, maybe they didn’t say THAT, but they certainly told their kids that others deserved the trophy more). There was a time when parents weren’t concerned with what music was playing at the moment of birth so as to create a less traumatic birth experience (I have never given birth, nor have I witnessed it, but I hear it’s pretty brutal, particularly for fathers who are within arm’s length of mom). There was a time when we gave our little pumpkins (sarcastic term for children) the truth. Today, we have to be sure everyone gets a trophy and that no one gets their little feelings hurt and that no one has to have any consequences for behavior. We live in a world in which parents live so vicariously through their children that they actually believe that a child’s behavior is a direct reflection of the parent’s own soul, desires, beliefs, and choices. We have created the greatest generation of entitled little pumpkins that the world has ever known. Is it any surprise that the entitlement mentality has bled over into the Christian world? Entitled Christians often ask the question about evil, just like atheists. There are a lot of great ways to answer the Problem of Evil, but I want to just focus on one here. I want to answer the question with a question: Since when did God exist to provide ANYONE with comfort? If we all agree that parents can create an entitled generation of Americans AND we agree that this is NOT a good thing, why do we think that an entitled generation in the Church is any better? We live in an in-between time right now in the church. Jesus’ first coming is the “already”. Jesus’ second coming is the “not yet”. Salvation history is in motion and it is sanctifying this world in preparation for Jesus to return for His bride. The bottom line is that in this time between “already” and “not yet” there are troubles. We have to remember that. Without darkness, how would be know the Light? Without hate, how would we know love? Jesus own words in John 16:33 give us hope. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Take heart and remember that an age of hope is coming on the horizon. It absolutely dwarfs the pain of the present. Hang in there.