Ro 8:22-23 - 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (NIV)
1. Introduction
One of the most important things in life is perspective. It is very difficult to make the right choices with the wrong perspective. Prisons are full of people who have broken the law simply because they grew up seeing the world through the wrong set of lenses. The bible is mostly about giving a person the right information so that they can choose from the right frame of mind. I believe one of the best things I can do for anyone is to correct their perspective so that they will see things correctly. Then, unbound by confusion, ignorance, or deception, they can think clearly giving them the best opportunity to do what is right. This sermon is a perspective sermon.
Are you happy? It’s an odd question isn’t it? It is a yes/no question, but one that you can’t answer with a simple yes or no. There’s more to it than just being happy or not. The reality is, you are always happy and yet you can always be happier. Even when you are sad, you could always be sadder meaning that some amount of happiness still exists in your life. So we measure happiness in levels. And how we measure it is entirely up to us. Rich people can be sad that they are not rich enough. Poor people can be happy that they are not as poor as some. How happy we are is probably determined by how happy we have been in the past and how happy we imagine we could be. Add to that our perspective. Some people are not only “half-empty” people but they would complain if they were only 10% empty. Some people are thrilled when they are 10% full. As for me, I am happy. But, I have been happier and I could be happier still.
Our culture is all about happiness. Even in a recession, we are so fortunate that not only do we have a lot of opportunities for pleasure; we have come to expect it. Happiness is not a luxury for us, but an expectation. We feel cheated when we are not happy. In fact, I would venture to say that we feel victimized if we are not happy. This is the perspective of our society. We feel we have a right to happiness. When hard times hit we shake our fist at God and cry, “why?” When things are good, you never hear that question though it is just as fair to ask it then.
I wonder, is it good to be so well off that happiness is assumed? A good portion of the world never considers happiness. They are too busy trying to survive. They consider themselves well off because they have access to good water, even if it IS a two hour walk away. We can’t imagine such an existence. We just can’t imagine it. Now, I certainly wouldn’t suggest that a high level of suffering is better than a high level of ease but I wonder if both aren’t equal in their potential for damage to the soul.
What interests me on this subject is that God not only allows suffering, but causes some of it. Hebrews 12:7 says that we are to endure hardship as discipline from God. For the Christian, not only is he allowing hardship, he is causing some of it. Doesn’t this seem odd when heaven is advertised in the Revelation as a place with no pain? If God is about joy, why make us suffer? Doesn’t he want us to be happy?
2. Not happy, not yet
I believe the answer is yes, but not yet. The purpose in life on earth is not happiness. We can have happiness, we can enjoy, we can find pleasure, but none of that is WHY we are here. God’s agenda for us ON EARTH is not happiness, but holiness. Not just to be holy, but to be made holy.
1 Pe 1:16 – 16...“Be holy, because I am holy.” (NIV)
The correct translation is as the Revised Standard puts it, “you shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Holiness means to be God’s and in being God’s to be as God intends you to be. God is exactly as he should be. He is the best he can be. And from that position, everything he does is good. This is what he intends for us. To become as we should be, to become the best we can be. And from that position to do good.
Let me paint you a picture. We found ourselves in a world full of temptation and trial. We found ourselves born in a state of rebellion, pride, and selfishness; separated from God, driven by our ego. We found ourselves captive of the king of darkness. We were confused, afraid, broken, guilty and lost.
Then Jesus came along to tell us that this wasn’t the end of the story. God didn’t create us to be confused, afraid, broken, guilty and lost. Instead, he made us to be in his image. Then Jesus offered, through his own blood, that if anyone trusts God, he can be rescued from his condition and set upon the path of transformation. This transformation becomes the point. This transformation is the primary way we fulfil our purpose of glorifying God. Becoming holy vindicates God’s name in his claim that his creation is good. Our faith and his grace come together to triumph over sin and the effects of sin. It is a beautiful thing to watch. God is creating a people that have discovered through faith and obedience the true glory of not only being in his image, but being made INTO his image.
How wonderful it will be to finally be in God’s glory as one who has truly chosen to be there. How incredible it will be to be presented to God the father by Christ as his bride, his pride and joy, people that have faithfully followed him against all odds. How glorious it will be to have Jesus finally say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”, and then to receive the treasures and rewards that he has talked so much about. THEN we will know happiness.
But for now, we must face the task at hand which is not to pursue happiness, but holiness.
3. The pursuit of happiness?
Do not be captured by the western deception that happiness is the goal of life. Yes, we were made to be happy, but not yet. First, we were made to be holy. It is in being holy that happiness is really found. True happiness is the reward for true holiness. You must wait for it.
It is sad to see how this deception has so influenced the Church in our culture. People who claim to have given themselves to Jesus spend most of their time “doing what they must so they can do what they want.” The consumer driven western ideology that is all about happiness has somehow been assimilated into our ideology and much effort is spent on making ourselves happy as Christians. What is worse, we use the language of worship to justify the affection for this false god. We talk about the music, the sermons, the services, the programs, even the people of the Church in terms of how they make us happy.
We talk of enjoyment as a spiritual thing. I really “enjoyed” your sermon pastor. I really “enjoyed” the music. We use the terms “want” and “like” to describe that which is good from that which isn’t. “I want a church that has...”. “I like a pastor that does...”. “I want...I like...”. These followers of Christ almost never consider what Jesus wants them to do, just what they enjoy and what makes them happiest. And the bottom line is that most Christians are going to the Church that makes them the happiest. Most Christians are serving the Church in the way that makes them the happiest. Most Christians are only involved in those things that they WANT to be involved in.
I once had a lady tell me that she would not be coming to bible study anymore because she has learned that she needs to live for herself and do only that which makes her happy. Sad to say, bible study wasn’t accomplishing that end, therefore she determined she need, and should not, go. Tell me, why do you go to bible study? Is it because you enjoy it? Some of you don’t go. Why do you not go? Is it because you don’t enjoy it? A few of you go to the weekly prayer meeting? Why? Most of you do not. Why not? Listen closely here: I am NOT saying that you should or shouldn’t go. There are good reasons for going and good reasons for not going. If you attend a thing for personal enjoyment, you have succeeded in making the thing a matter of entertainment only...even if it is a godly thing. This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy godly things. I would hope that you do. But let happiness be a by-product of godly things, not the reason for them. If you are one that refuses a thing because it lacks personal enjoyment, you have succeeded in making happiness your god. And that is a very small god, indeed.
4. University is about an education
It’s like the young people who go to university just to have fun. And fun they have. But all that fun will seem a bit silly when the young person is working at Tim Horton’s, living in a one bedroom apartment with no hope for anything more, when they could have had a decent career with plenty of opportunities and a real home. School can be fun, but the point is to get an education, training and a degree. And if you want those things, you are going to have to work.
Life is like that. We can have fun living it, but the point is to grow our souls into the reflection of God that he made us to be. If we pursue happiness instead of holiness, the best we can hope for is to be in heaven with a Tim Horton’s job and a one bedroom apartment...forever...when we could have had the reward, the prize, the treasure, the crown of glory. We are going to feel a little more than silly.
5. Groaning
Paul said in his letter to the Roman church (Rom. 8:22-23) that all creation groans like a woman in childbirth. He says that those of us who follow Christ also groan. Why? Because we know that the blessing is coming, but it is coming through pain. We don’t know when it will arrive, only that it is coming. And in the meantime, it hurts. And it must hurt. It just has to. There is no becoming holy without trial, without suffering. Hebrews tells us (Heb. 5:8) that even Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered.
Paul said in his letter to the Colossian church (Col. 1:24) that he rejoiced in his sufferings. Not that he was masochistic, but he saw the value in why he was suffering. In this case, he wasn’t even suffering for himself, but for others. That’s right! We aren’t only supposed to suffer so that we can be made holy, but we are supposed to suffer so that others can be made holy. This is what Church is about. Becoming holy and helping others do the same.
In the process, we groan. We don’t expect happiness, we expect holiness. Our hope isn’t that Jesus will take our troubles away, but that he will make our troubles worthwhile. But it isn’t easy. It isn’t comfortable. He never calls us to walk on calm water, but the storm. He doesn’t call us to have our feet washed, but to wash other’s. He doesn’t say that we’ll be loved, but persecuted. And he not only promises us trials and hardship, but he teaches us to rejoice in them. Can holiness truly be worth all of that? Yes. Emphatically, yes! This is the gospel. Holiness is what you were made for. Holiness is why you exist. There is nothing greater. It must be free. It must be chosen. And it must be gained through suffering. And it is worth every single groan. He wouldn’t have died if it weren’t so.
And here is a wonderful paradox. If you are willing to give up your happiness in the pursuit of holiness, you will find joy as a direct by-product. It will not be happiness. It will not be satisfaction. It will not be comfort. But you will find joy in the groaning. Hebrews tells us that it was for the “joy set before [Jesus]” that he “endured the cross”. Again, it wasn’t that he enjoyed the suffering. That much is very clear. But he knew what it was for, what it was accomplishing. Therefore, he rejoiced in the suffering. He was glad it was happening. Paul rejoiced in his suffering in the same way. He was glad it happened. It was worth it. If you will choose holiness over happiness, you will rejoice in the suffering too.
6. Conclusion
Just before Paul wrote that bit about groaning, he made this statement (Rom. 8:18): “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” This hope is the driving force behind our faith. It is the extra motivation we need to endure, to focus, to fight.
Paul goes on to say (Rom. 8:24-25), “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” There will come a day when all the pain of this life will make sense and will quickly become a distant irrelevant memory. The hurt will no longer matter, only what we did with it. But that day is not today. Today is the day we choose. Will you live to be happy, or will you, by faith, live to be holy? What will you pursue?
This is one of the true tests of faith. Will we trust God enough to give up our happiness? Will we take up the cross? Will we lose our life? Is being right with God more important to us than the things of life that bring us pleasure, whatever those things might be? Think about it, what brings you pleasure? Work, relationships, being respected or accepted, having place or belonging, achievement, entertainment, hobbies, family, travel? Do you pursue these things? Or do you simply enjoy them while you’re eyes on putting off the old nature and putting on the new?
Personally, I refuse to give up God and the things of God for the pleasures of this world. I will not use terms like “want”, “enjoy”, or “like” in the context of spiritual things. I will not take into account things like “convenience” or “preference” when faced with decisions. I will make every effort to put that which I enjoy into the perspective of my great desire...the prize; to know Christ, to be joined to him at the hip, to be one he can count on, to be one that is like him, to be a servant of all, to be a true worshipper of the true God, to be a “good and faithful servant”. I truly hope that you will join me in this great and noble pursuit...the pursuit of holiness.
