During this period of Lent, and as we near the sacred period of Good Friday and Easter, we reflect on the meaning of Calvary and what Christ has done for us.
For the past few weeks, Damansara Utama Methodist Church has been going through a series of sermons on the book of Colossians and Christ’s role in the Christian life – the most recent, delivered by Pr Terry Yeow, reflects on Christ as the everlasting hope of every Christian.
Interestingly, as we read the book of Colossians, we find the early Christians in a quandary of faith, surrounded by the cultures of two disparate groups. There were the Romans to whom Jesus Christ was just one among many gods in the pantheon. On the other side, the Hebrews were hard lining that Christians had to follow the ways of the Torah strictly.
Both the Romans and the Hebrews were missing the whole point of the Gospel: the essence of mystery, that Christ lives within us and is the hope of future glory and resurrection.
In our daily life, we sometimes compartmentalise Christ in the same way. We recognise Christ’s divinity, but we do not involve him in our day-to-day activities or life. We see Him as someone sacred but separate from the routine and mundane. At other times, we focus more on the letter of the law rather than the spirit and the freedom Christ has won for us.
In Scripture, Jesus often alludes to the intimacy that ought to exist between Him and the Church. In John 6:56, He said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them”, and in the famous allegory of the grapevine, He taught us of this intimate relationship and that we cannot bear lasting fruit unless we are in Him.
What is meant when it is said that Jesus is in us, the hope of glory? Rather than just a godhead figure, Christ is living in us. The Christian lifestyle is centered on Christ, and He is woven into every fibre of our being, including the mundane. When Christ is in us, and when He becomes our everlasting hope, lives change.
We see this through testimonies and also in Scripture through the lives of the disciples themselves. From simple backgrounds as fisherfolk and a tax collector, Jesus transformed them into some of the most influential people in history. Despite their failings, including betraying Jesus on the night he was arrested, they were redeemed and transformed. From weak and fearful people, they became bold and courageous in proclaiming Jesus to the world.
A group of about two handfuls, the disciples became cornerstones of a faith movement that altered the world. Today, there are about 2.2 billion Christians in the world. Because the disciples and a minority group of people in the Early Church held on to Christ as their everlasting hope despite persecution and started to proclaim the Gospel fearlessly, billions of people (uncountable if we include those throughout history) came to the saving knowledge of Christ.
Most of us in this world seek a meaningful life. It may be a pursuit of happiness, building a legacy, being the boss of a successful mega enterprise, or being celebrated for talents and skills. In one way or another, we all want to live a glorious life.
The fact of the matter is God has already bestowed glory on us. This glory was originally given freely to Adam, but it was forfeited when Sin came into the world, a huge part because mankind was trying to establish their own glory apart from God. We were designed to live in God’s glory. When Christ comes into our lives, He reconciles us to God and to the glory that God had given to us. We are designed to live not without the glory of God.
When we do not know God, we seek glory elsewhere. It may be a pleasure, or perhaps even something nobler at the start, and over time, we often become addicted to the pursuit. However, none of this glory lasts. They will all wear away in time. We get bored with the things that bring us pleasure and empires rise and fall. Because only God is eternal, True Glory can only be rediscovered through Christ in us; the hope of Glory. And the Good News is that He is near and loves us so much that He wants to build an intimate relationship with us.
Just as it was with the disciples who built an eternal legacy through Christ, when Christ is in us, His grace is sufficient to carry us through whatever we may go through. We are all finite beings, destined to shed our mortal coils one day. Christ, however, has defeated death and given us eternal hope and glory. Like the surrender of 5 loaves and 2 fishes feeding thousands, a surrendered life and trust in Jesus makes the impossible possible.
Pr Terry shared that Self-Reliance will lead us into chasing Counterfeit Glories. But Reliance in Christ gives us the Hope of Glory that is everlasting and can sustain us to what He calls us into.
Indeed, Christ is our Everlasting Hope.
This is an adaptation and abridgment of the message shared by Pr Terry Yeow at DUMC on the 11th and 12th of March 2023. For the original full message, you may access the video sermon at https://dumc.my/sermons/christ-our-everlasting-hope/
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