The Expected One

A life of peace and joy, that’s the kind of life I want to live; a life without worries and troubles. The American dream sounds like such a great idea; a big house with a big yard, a nice car in the drive-way, and a perfectly happy family. Now, let’s go back to reality and see where we really are. Some of you are pursuing home-ownership and some have nice cars. Yet, how about having a happy, joyous, peaceful family? Turmoil in our lives comes and goes. We struggle to make sure that we can pay the bills and still have money left over for groceries and gas to get to work next week. The real trouble comes from the inside of our lives. The emptiness felt in a once passionately burning marriage. The joy of having children has turned into a daily dread of dragging them out of bed. The excitement of finding a place to live together, going to college, graduation, and so many other events in life has become little more than bumps in the past. Although important parts of our lives, they just don’t deliver the kind on the “American dream.” All those things we look forward to have some how failed.

This is where you start looking for the answer. You begin digging around in your own life looking for the hope and joy of years past. You aren’t alone in this struggle. You are not the first and will not be the last person to struggle with trying to find that one thing that will make this life more than just an everyday survival test. John the Baptist had been placed in prison with no hope of ever getting out. He had offended the ruler of the province in which he lived. He sent a message to Jesus Christ, “Are You the Expected One or shall we look for someone else?” Is Christ the one we need or should we look somewhere else. Well, let’s look and compare Christ to the answers this world has to offer.

Hinduism – I have to do it myself; no one can help

Skit: One Bill too Many

Setting: Man sitting at Table checking mail

Characters: Husband, Wife, and Children

Husband begins opening bills. Kids play within hearing distance. Wife sits down at table with husband.

Husband: “Another day, another set of bills to pay. The car payment is overdue. Great, now they are raising our mortgage rates. What’s this? Tear open an envelope. Six hundred dollars!! How can we afford to pay this electric bill?!

Wife: “I don’t know, maybe one of us will have to get a second job.”

Husband: “Oh, so now I have to get another job just so you can have money to spend. I am already putting in overtime at the factory as it is. How much more do you want?”

Wife: “Fine, I’ll just do it myself. It’s not like anyone’s gonna help anyway.”

Husband: “If you would quit spending money on the salon then maybe we could afford the bills.”

Wife stomps away past the kids in anger. The kids look at their mom and then their dad not knowing what to do.

Husband: “Great, now I have to deal with this. I’ll just do it myself and put more hours in.”

No peace exists in that home. Each spouse dreadfully seeks out how they can make sure to get the bills paid. The conflict is too much and soon anger erupts into mean and hateful comments. The parents then may very well turn on the kids and say mean and hateful things to the kids as well. Yet, this is basically the first place we begin looking when trying to find the answer, key, to living an incredible life. Hinduism teaches this very thought process. To get to what they call heaven, you have to live and act perfectly. It is all on you to do everything. If you do bad, you will be reincarnated to live your life again until you get it right. You have to do it yourself.

Have you ever felt that way, as if you were all alone and on your own? “The only person I can rely on is myself and no one else.” Yet, you spend your nights almost begging for something more, for someone else to become a part of your life. Someone or something that can really make a difference in the way you feel and the way you live. This is what the world teaches us. Self-reliance is the only way to go. Only you can get yourself promoted to the top of the company. Only you can deal with the problems in your life. Only you… at least that is what the world teaches and if you are really honest you will admit that it leaves you feeling empty, frustrated, and unhappy. “Shall we look for someone else?”