Little and Little part 5
I like this Rant series because it's hopeful. And I think hope is sometimes pushed to the backburner. Even though, "Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT). We focus a lot on faith. And rightfully so. We focus the most on love. And rightfully so. Love is the greatest of all. Faith works by love. They are more than hand in hand. But what about hope? Hope lasts forever. Hope springs eternal. If it didn't, it wouldn't be hope. The word "hope" in our verse today in the KJV is number 1680 in Strong's Greek Concordance. It means, "Expectation or confidence." And when we're talking about building (on the foundation of Christ... love), we have to have an expectation that we aren't building in vain. We have to have a confidence that what we're doing means something. Because when we build... here a little, there a little... it can seem like we're running in place sometimes. It can seem like we AREN'T making much of a difference. It can SEEM like we ARE building in vain. Which is why we must not despise small beginnings. We have to trust in the Lord that HE is the one who is really doing the building. I mean, Jesus was a carpenter, right? When God was speaking to King David He said, "And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that the LORD will build thee an house" (1 Chronicles 17:10). And I think there are two ways to take this: 1. God will build a house FOR us. 2. God will build US into a house. Which goes right along with what we see in Revelation 21:3 in the Message Bible, "I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God." He built a house--US--for HIM to live in! "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Christ in you. The hope of glory. The expectation, or confidence, that the glory within will come out. Naturally. By little and little. Until it's every breath you take and every move you make. Until it's not something you have to try to do. Until you have filled yourself with the love that God has filled you with and it overflows and gets all over everybody you come into contact with. Until people look at you and see Jesus. Until you look at YOURSELF and see Jesus. Until you begin to love others with the love that Jesus loves you with. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). We ARE the Son(s) of God. And as He reveals Himself to us, and in us, and through us, and as us... we SEE Him as He is... and we BE Him as He is. We be OURSELVES as we truly are. So we can have that confidence that even the longest never-ending life-long journey starts with a single step. A baby step. And all of the stumbles and falls are simply occasions to learn and grow. Don't worry about the destination. In a sense we have already arrived because the work is finished. So just enjoy the ride!