In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33b-c
I continue my study of The Character of Jesus. For this morning, I focus on chapter 13: The Optimism of Jesus where I highlighted in my Kindle version the following excerpts:
- Ever since the Fall (Genesis 3), the world has known pain, sorrow, etc. These are all the consequences of sin and separation from God. We all sin and need a savior who can both save us the condemnation of sin and reconcile us to God.
- Jesus is this Savior. "Jesus of Nazareth was not a man who could shut his eyes to the sorrow and the heart-break of the world. Never were eyes wider open than his. He saw everything. He saw things which the world had passed by unnoticed. He saw suffering in its every form — it tugged at his heart strings. The tired, sad faces of human beings haunted him, they spoke to him of the tragedy of the world's disordered heart. He had ears which caught every shriek of agony, every cry of distress, every sigh of want. He saw with eyes which pierced."
- "Underneath the tragedy of suffering he saw the blacker tragedy of sin. Down underneath the surface of the world's life he Saw the cancer which was eating up its strength and its hope and its joy. He recognized as none other the tremendous power of evil. He saw with open eyes the roads which lead to death. He knew, as no other has ever known so well, that evil must be resisted, that sin must be faced and grappled with, that it is only by struggle, suffering, and death that the victory can be won. But he remains nevertheless undaunted. He never loses heart. He sees all, and he hears all, but he never gives up hope."
- "The New Testament is a gospel, a bit of glorious news, because at the center of it there lives and works the world's greatest optimist....Jesus is the prince of optimists — his optimism is the optimism of God Himself."
- "Let us try to find the secret of Jesus' optimism. The secret is written large across the pages of the Gospel. It was a secret too good to keep — he gave it to everybody who had ears to hear. It was an abiding confidence in God. We are sure of Him — sometimes. Our faith is clouded and it is intermittent. It floods and ebbs like the tide, Jesus never doubted. His vision was unclouded. His trust was absolute. To him God was an ever-present Father. This was his new name for God. The prophets and poets of Israel had only seldom ventured to think of God as father, and then only by way of dim surpise. With Jesus, God was always Father. This is the name he carried on his lips when a boy of twelve, it was on his lips when he passed from this world into the other. He placed it on the lips of every man who followed him. It constantly amazed him that men had so little faith in God. "Have faith in God!" This was the exhortation with which he braced the hearts of those who wished to live his life and do his work. The words came with the power of a revelation, because warm with the blood of a heart which knew the secret of perfect trust."
- "Along with unswerving trust in God there went an unshakable confidence in man. Jesus believed in human nature. He saw the possibilities and capacities of the human heart. He saw men's littlenesses, frailties, vices, sins, but underneath all these he saw a soul created in God's image....He called Simon the son of Jonas a rock, when Simon was counted the most fickle and fluctuating man in all the town. Jesus saw that which was deepest in him. He had confidence not only in people who went to church, but also in people who never went. He had hope of the Publicans and sinners. He knew that Zaccheus could repent and that Matthew could become a preacher."
- "Can eternal foundations be laid in human hearts? Yes, says Jesus, and without a doubt of the fidelity of his apostles, he rolled the huge world upon their shoulders and went away. Nor could any experience break down this trust in the divine capacities of human nature."
- "Jesus trusted men. He did this in the teeth of experiences which swept over him like a dark and devastating flood. His entire career was a tragedy. He was suspected, misrepresented, hated. He was surrounded by liars wherever he went. No matter what he said his sentences were twisted, and no matter what he did his motives were impugned. Such treatment is apt to sour the heart of any one who is long subjected to it. Jesus was mistreated all the way....[But] he never gave up faith in human nature."
- "There are in every community men and women, soured on the world, suspicious of everybody, clinging to the conviction that there is nobody in whom one can trust. Would that all such cynics might come to Jesus and learn from him to expect large things from human nature everywhere. He sees the shallowness, the paltriness, the frailty of the heart; but he also sees its capacities, its possibilities, the mustard-seed germs of virtues and graces which the Spirit of God can unfold. We measure men too much by their powers, and not enough by their capacities, by what they are to-day and not by what they may become later on. It was because the eyes of Jesus swept the future that he could stand around the wreckage of a race in ruins and say, 'Be of good cheer!'"
- "This indomitable Optimist has confidence in you. You have no hope for yourself. He has. You see your weakness, sordidness, vileness; he sees deeper, and seeing deeper he has hope for you. He sees you: capacity of God. He knows what you can do when you have come to yourself. He sees deeper also into God. You have no adequate conception of the patience or the mercy of the Infinite Father. He has. You do not know what Infinite Love can accomplish. He does. Because of your transgressions you have lost faith in yourself. He has not. Because you have failed a thousand times you say there is no use trying any more. He says, 'Try again!' If you give yourself to him, he will make of you an optimist!"
Similar to my post on chapter 8: The Originality of Jesus, we have hope in Jesus. Paul viewed himself the "foremost" of sinners (see 1 Timothy 1:12-16), yet on the road to Damascus, Christ revealed Himself to Paul, and his life was transformed in an instant - from the foremost of sinners to biblical hero who was used by God to start churches and save many for Him. Similarly, Jesus healed lepers facing death, blind men, those unable to stand or walk, etc. Such miracles are real and Jesus' transforming power is undeniable - start by confessing Your sin and surrendering Your life to Jesus. There is hope - it is found in Jesus.
Comment and discuss this post.
My Prayer: Jesus, what an awesome God You are that You save and give new life that is transformed through sanctification. We find hope in You - hope that is eternal. Thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of such hope and salvation. My sin is great and it continues...daily. Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from such sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
