The final Word about Us

The Final Word about us

Written by Dan McDonald

With recognition of my indebtedness to words written by Marlena Graves

 

            A few days ago Marlena Graves posted these words on Twitter:  “We start to believe rejection, discouragement and failure are the final word about us.  But gazing into Jesus’ face – delight.  The final word.”

            Those brief words ignited encouragement and optimism in my soul.  I began to realize that God’s final word to us, his revelation to us in these final days (Hebrews 1:1-3) is also the final word meant to express who and what we are as the people of God.  For what is our destiny in Christ except that one day we shall see him as he is and we shall be like him.  (I John 3:1-2)

 

Pancrator from Monastery of St. Catherine, Mount Sinai
Jesus holding the Scriptures

 

Since I have basically built a blog on words by Marlena Graves, let me inform or remind anyone reading this blog that Marlena Graves has written a book that will be released this coming month of June.  It is entitled A Beautiful Disaster.    I can’t tell you a lot about it, except that it reportedly blends her own personal story, with theological insights from the Scriptures and also she sheds light on these experiences of our humanity from voices of the ancient church.  I’ve read enough of what she has to say concerning the life of faith that I will say I look forward to reading her book.  That is my way of partially paying my debt to her, for this blog would be impossible without me reading her posted tweet a few days ago.  Her words ignited joy and fresh thoughts within me, so I must express my indebtedness to her.

It is common for Christians to be discouraged by their sense of weakness in regards to the spiritual life.  In some instances we can become distraught and hopeless for long seasons.  We can see our seeming inability to put away our sins completely.  We find as St. Paul put it that we who wish to do good, do evil.  At such a point it is easy to start believing that discouragement and failure are the final words describing our existence.  But in Christ, the true final word is not our present experiences but the eternal realities for which our Lord has redeemed us and has invited us to discover in and through his life of grace through faith.  The final word is spoken in Jesus’ face – it is a word of delight.  St. John writes of our hope; that we shall one day see him as he is and we shall be like him. (I John 3:2)

The Apostle John goes on to describe how everyone who has this hope fixed on Christ, purifies himself just as Christ is pure. (I John 3:1-3)  It is as though the Christian lives by light borrowed from the future that he may see the truth of the reality of life through the present darkness.  We see by God’s grace of his revelation through Christ that in the day of Christ we shall see him and be like him.  So borrowing the light that shines in the sureness of the future in Christ we see the truth as it is in the darkness of our present circumstances.  The Alpha and Omega shines light from the future day into the present darkness.  Now there is sin and temptation, weakness and struggle; but that is not the final word, for Christ is our final word.  He is the eternal reality for all of us who have heard his voice and followed his call to come, take up our crosses, and follow him.

We see in this reality what it means for us that Christ took upon himself humanity even as he was the exact representation of God’s divinity in human form.  For our Lord Jesus Christ was the final word in these last days concerning who God is.  In former times God revealed his ways and his will at various times and in various means through his prophets.  But in Christ God has revealed himself, his exact representation and the express image of his divinity in the fullness of human flesh.  (Hebrews 1:1-3)  Christ is the final word about who God is.  He who has seen the Son has seen the Father in and through the Son.  The Spirit has been granted that what is true of Christ might be taught to us as we come to believe upon him in the Gospel.  Christ is God’s final word of showing man who God really is.

But Christ is also the final word for every redeemed man and woman and child.  For Christ is the second Adam whose righteousness was complete and is being taught to his disciples who believe and follow him and whose righteousness will be perfected when we see him and shall be like him.  Christ is the final word for our humanity even as he is the final word of God’s revelation of himself to mankind.  For a little while we know suffering, discouragement, temptation, and even weakness and failure; but in yet a little while we shall see Christ and shall be like him and that is the eternal last word regarding our humanity.  Yes we shall see his face and it will be delight that we see on Jesus' face; even as the bridegroom rejoices in his bride’s face.  That we shall see him and be like him will be the final word regarding ourselves.  So let us rejoice and press onwards for we have a wonderful future indeed.