Date - July/72

Contributor - Peter J. Yff

Title - In Spite of Appearances

Topic - Hope

"When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,

the moon and the stars which thou hast established,

what is man, that thou art mindful of him,

and the son of man that thou dost care for him?

Yet thou hast made him little less than God,

and dost crown him with glory and honor,

thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hand Psalm 8 : 3-6a RSV

". . . . as it is we do not yet see everything in subjection Appearances

to him, but we see Jesus." - Hebrews 2 : 8b, 9a RSV

How differently life can appear, from one day to another. There is the time when we regard life and the world from the mountain top, and then inevitably, the time when we view things, as it were, from the depths of a Grand Canyon, when everything seems hopeless, worthless, and forlorn. The joy, and exhilaration so keenly and surely felt one day has evaporated again. Youngsters involved with the drug scene sometimes call their artificial form of this experience "crashing".

What of it all? What can one do to obtain again the courage and faith to go on? In seeking an answer we ought to point out first of all that life is not lived on one plane. There are, and will be, hills, and valleys. Further, in our search for an answer to the very human question 'why do I feel up one day and down another?', we turn to people who recorded their experience and conviction in the pages of Holy Writ. They were men and women of flesh and blood, like ourselves, and their experiences are recorded for our benefit.

John the Baptist was a man who bridged two eras. In a real sense he is the last of the Old Testament prophets. He points out the Messiahs, and identifies him. John observed to his disciples one day, as Jesus passed by, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". John was so sure, so confident, that when his disciples pointed out that he, John, was losing followers to this new Rabbi, he remarked: "He must increase, but I must decrease." Then John stood up to Herod one day, and said that it was outrageous for Herod to be living in an adulterous relationship with his brother's wife, Herod promptly imprisoned him. The stone walls of the dungeon did nothing to lift John's spirits, and as the days passed, his confidence waned and courage wilted. He sent two of his disciples to inquire of Jesus, "Are you he who is to come, or should we look for another?" After all, John had been introducing the kingdom of God as a present reality, and now, nothing is happening, or so it appeared. Doubt does come. In fact, one of the problems facing Christian people in our time, as in any other, is the doubt arising from a so-called realistic view of the world. The kingdom of God does not seem to come in human society. It comes in the heart, yes, and certainly there are times when God seems very real. But then there are all the other times. There are all the other circumstances - the things we wish we could change, and cannot. We stand helpless before the problems of the world. Individually we know grief, and cannot always adjust. We have situations in home and life which we cannot change or accept. Children rebel, and people suffer and die. We have Vietnam's in the world, catastrophes come in nature, people are drowned and others perish from hunger. We grow a bit older, and find many of the goals of life unrealized. The flower has faded and the bloom has disappeared. There are few folk indeed who have not undergone some kind of disappointment, whether it be personal, or whether it simply be a kind of heartache for the world in which we live.

All of us, in one way or another experience doubt, and the disconcerting feeling: "can it really be true, what the church says?"

What will our reaction be? I would like to suggest that people usually find themselves in one of three responses:

- that of closing one's eye to the reality, or attemption to run away by simply saying that it isn't so. How many families aren't there where this happens, where a subject or a name is carefully, even painfully avoided; where the problem is swept under the rug. One day, of course, the problem will assert itself with crushing, demoralizing force.

- others simply lose their faith, or discard it. It hasn't given the answer they sought. They then make their way through the world limping through life having little to relieve the anxiety, frustration and travail. One rages at the world and the mess folk have made of it. or, hopefully, one will find in a fresh experience, God's presence and promise in a reassuring answer.

We begin to achieve this answer by first of all taking God at his word. We give ourselves to Christ as his people, as penitent sinners, we come with the admission, "Lord, I can't do it by myself , I'm foolish for having tried. Help me, and give me the strength I need." He will.

It begins, in other words, with personal faith, with committing life to Jesus Christ. Contrary to what the skeptic of this age would say, this is a realistic view of life. We see life as it is, with its joys and sorrows, with its failures and disappointments, with many things, in other words, not in subjection. But we see Jesus. We do not see everything as we would want it, but we see Him. Just as the person who has suffered a crushing blow is glad when an important friend comes along, so we are glad when He is there. Just as a person charged with a violation of the law, and unexpectedly jailed is glad when his attorney comes. He has been charged, and has made the phone call permitted. His lawyer comes - here is one who knows what will happen, and what can be done to help. He is defenseless no longer. So, in a much better, and much more assured fashion the Christian is helped when he realizes that his Lord is indeed at hand.

We see Jesus. We see one who is knowable, and approachable - a man, yet more than a man. There are many things beyond our understanding or scope. For example the vast reaches of outer space leave us confused when we read about them. The thought of God who is infinite, all knowing and all powerful and everywhere present, this leaves us bewildered too. We talk about God, but who is he? What is he like? We have our answer, just as the early disciples did, in the words of Jesus himself: "He who has seen me has seen the Father."

We see Jesus, our Redeemer. We recognize our faults and failing' our sin and shortcomings.

Our faults do not keep us away, however. (The old gospel hymn puts it: "If you wait until you're better, you'll never come at all.") He receives us, comforts us, restores us, and sends us forth to serve him, to follow in his way. We see even more - we see privilege. What a privilege it is to know him, to walk with him, to be his disciple, to do his work, in the home, day by day, in care of children, or in providing for human wants and needs as breadwinner for a family, in friendly reaching out to neighbor or casual contact.

Moreover, we see promise. "I will not leave you desolate," said Jesus. Literally, I will not leave you as orphans. The news media provide us heart-rending pictures of little ones so bereft of everything and everyone - homes destroyed, parents killed or missing because of war, with no one available to care anymore. I will not leave you like that, is Jesus' meaning. I will send you another comforter. I will be with you, even to the close of the age.

The promise is eternal. "Where I am there you will be also." After this life, after time, there is eternity. Heaven, for the believer, is a certainty, and a certain blessing. Pain shall be no more, sorrow shall be banished, every tear wiped away, and every cause of anguish removed.

In spite of appearances, in spite of the skepticism of the day and the unbelief of some, the Christian gospel has an answer, a way. The message of this gospel is for all who will listen, and open their hearts to him.