<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us\u201d (1 John 1:8).<\/p>\n
IT SEEMS TO BE HARD FOR THOSE WHO HOLD UP CHRIST AS THE ANSWER TO EVERY PROBLEM TO AVOID PRETENDING THEY\u2019VE MADE MORE PROGRESS THAN THEY HAVE. We sometimes talk and act as if the devout Christian can be released completely from suffering and struggle in this life. Surely we know that the truth is otherwise, but like the courtiers in \u201cThe Emperor\u2019s New Clothes,\u201d all of whom praised the king\u2019s non-existent garments, we\u2019re afraid to speak the obvious. There is pressure to keep up the illusion of perfect emotional happiness and complete victory in the battle against sin. But the price we pay is that we actually make less progress in joy and purity than we would if we were more honest.<\/p>\n
When it comes time to encourage a friend, we show that it\u2019s possible to be both realistic and compassionate. \u201cDon\u2019t be so hard on yourself,\u201d we say. \u201cIt\u2019s okay to hurt and to struggle. All of us are broken vessels, and we needn\u2019t be afraid to experience life as it really is. We can\u2019t be perfect, but we can be persistent. Hang in there, and cry whenever you need to.\u201d These are wise words. But when the struggle is our own, we lose our balance, either drowning in despair or naively pretending that God has solved all of our problems already. It\u2019s hard to hold a balanced perspective.<\/p>\n
Whatever it means in this life to be \u201cin Christ,\u201d it does not mean total freedom from setbacks and sorrow. To be in Christ is to groan. It is to live out the days of our pilgrimage in hope.<\/em> This hope can no doubt make a great difference in our present reality, but only when it\u2019s honest about what that present reality is. \u201cFor in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:2-4). Let us not conspire to praise our present \u201cclothing\u201d more than the facts warrant. If we\u2019re among His faithful people, Christ will one day clothe us in perfect glory. Our rags will be turned into riches. Until then, there is a need for honesty about our raggedness.<\/p>\n \u201cHave the courage to appear poor, and you disarm poverty of its sharpest sting\u201d (Anna Jameson).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n