by Kevin Burton
“Some Christians are sadly prone to look on the dark side of everything, and to dwell more upon what they have gone through than upon what God has done for them,” writes Alistair Begg in a recent Truth For Life e-mail.
If you, like me, could easily substitute your name for the phrase “some Christians” in the paragraph above, read on.
“Ask for their impression of the Christian life, and they will describe their continual conflicts, their deep afflictions, their sad adversities, and the sinfulness of their hearts, but with scarcely any reference to the mercy and help that God has provided them,” Begg writes.
I just checked and there don’t seem to be any cameras or listening devices in my closets or in my beloved mancave. Nevertheless Begg seems to have a pretty good idea of the mood much of the time in my habitations.
How sad is that? What a sorry insult to the Savior of my Soul.
Viewing this life’s events, the joys and the sorrows, in the context of Christ, His salvation and the promises of God, takes us beyond “looking at the bright side” to the place where there is no dark side worth talking about.
Start with 1 John 3:1 “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!”
Now move on to Romans 8:16-18 (NKJV) “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
And that is just the beginning of the promises of God we should consider. We should let them permeate our attitude, our daily disposition, so that we might better resemble the kind of Christian Begg goes on to describe.
“But a Christian whose soul is in a healthy state will come forward joyously and say, ‘I will not speak about myself, but to the honor of my God,” Begg writes. “He has brought me up out of a horrible pit and out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings; and He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. The Lord has done great things for me—I am glad.”
“This summary of experience is the very best that any child of God can present. It is true that we endure trials, but it is just as true that we are delivered out of them. It is true that we have our corruptions, and sadly we acknowledge this, but it is just as true that we have an all-sufficient Savior who overcomes these corruptions and delivers us from their dominion.”
Did you ever watch the film of an old championship game of one of your favorite sports teams? You know your team won the game, so you are not in any kind of despair if your team falls behind. You know the glories ahead. You have seen the ending.
For example, my Cincinnati Reeds trailing the Boston Red Sox 3-0 after five innings in game 7 of the 1975 World Series. Final score: Reds 4, Boston 3. I could watch that, all day!
Well, if you have read the Bible, in Revelation and elsewhere, you know that the final battle belongs to the Lord. This is not in question. You know the ending in advance.
So don’t just relax, rejoice!
The bright side is exceedingly bright, is in not?
“The deeper our troubles, the louder our thanks to God, who has led us through them all and preserved us until today,” Begg writes. “Our griefs cannot spoil the melody of our praise; we consider them to be the bass line of our life’s song, “The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.”
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