So We do Not Loose Heart

We are afflicted in every way... but not crushed. Though the pressure to turn and give up all hope is great, and would be justified, and the pain is intense due to the instability of church life and the agony of division and disunity; and though we loose friends due to confusing, unnecessary issues, and the very people we love the most turn and do the unthinkable, we are not crushed... always carrying in the body the death of Jesus. And we have this one aching desire: that through all of the afflictions, somehow, the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

Perplexed...but not driven to despair. Though we most often do not know how to handle the situations we're walking through, and relationships are tangly; and though we feel hemmed in on both sides, and even though there seems to be absolutely no hope at all outside of Jesus, we are not driven to despair... always carrying in the body the death of Jesus. And we have this one aching desire: that through all of the perplexing turns of church life, and all of the perplexing situations, somehow, the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

Struck down...but not destroyed. Though we feel destroyed and struck down by the prolonged turmoil and tension, and our hearts ache and long for unity and oneness among God's people, yet see no hope ahead; and though a lot of our hopes and dreams seem to be taken from us, leaving us with no hope but for Jesus, we are not destroyed... always carrying in the body the death of Jesus. And we have this one aching desire: that through the destructions and the pain, somehow, the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

So, as people and as young people, and as churches and as the Body of Christ, we do not loose heart. We do not loose courage and begin to tremble and stand by the side lines, afraid. We won't squander our lives. We do not walk around like we saw God's obituary in the morning paper. Though our outer self – the stuff that won't matter in eternity – looses energy and vigor, and wastes away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction – though it feels like it will last forever, and though there is real pain and real suffering; and though at times we wonder if these dry bones could ever, ever be resurrected … THIS VERY THING is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison!

So we refuse to look to the things that are seen. We don't want to waste our life looking at the paper model when the real thing is yet to come. We choose, instead, to look to the things that are not directly evident – the things that seem to be absolute unreality, a impossibility because of our current situation. For the things that we see, and the things that we become weighed down by, are just temporary substitutions; they're just transient, short-lived rain showers in the spring. These things that we are incapable of seeing – these things are eternal.