It is what we all dread, although we know it is inevitable. No one on earth lives forever, and the end will come for each one of us, even though we don’t know when.
But one day the moment arrives. A loved one dies. It may come so much sooner than was expected that we feel like death has cheated. Or it may come after a long full life – perhaps even as a mercy. In any case, we grieve – for ourselves mostly. We are the ones who will carry the sorrow of the loss.
But yet there is a will to be read. A last will and testament that our beloved has left behind. We are called to the reading and so we go. We sit down in front of the attorney’s desk – or counselor, we might call them – and wait to hear what has been written.
The counselor smiles, looks at us and says, “I am so happy to be able to share this with you today. You are going to inherit something so wonderful, there are no words to adequately describe it.”
And we are thinking: what could that possibly be? a million dollars? Have they left me all their property? What could be so indescribably wonderful?
The counselor proceeds to open the will and begins reading:
In Christ we have obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
And as we listen to this we begin to think, I guess the counselor is right to say that there are no words to adequately describe it. Because I don’t really have a clue what this inheritance is. Is it really so great?
The counselor can tell by our expressions that we are skeptical, and speaks again: “Your love for all the saints is well-known,” the counselor begins.
But we say, “Wait – I don’t know what you’re even talking about. Saints? I don’t know any saints. Please, look around. Do you see anyone who is perfect? Anyone who is not broken; hurting and sometimes even hurting other people? Do you see anyone in this crazy world who is really getting it right?
“Counselor, my heart is breaking for this world and all the people living in it, because everywhere I see chaos. I see angry people – angry at one another, angry at their circumstances, angry at the world. They are angry about their lost fortunes, their lost dreams, lost hopes. They divide themselves into opposing camps – mistrusting one another completely. They have about given up on everything, counselor. And I am afraid I am just the same.
“People have lost faith. They worship idols of all kinds, they care only about amusing themselves, distracting themselves from their pain. I see people who are addicted to anger and people who are just depressed. People who are always fighting and people who only want to escape, to disappear. And you talk about saints? There are no saints anymore.”
The counselor looks at us for a moment, then begins to speak again: “It is true, you cannot see it now. At best, we can only get a fleeting glimpse of this wonderful inheritance, but that does not make it any less real. It is a matter of vision. Perspective. That is, are you seeing through your eyes alone, or are you seeing with your heart?
“If you see with the eyes of your heart, you will still see the pain, the anger, the sorrow in this world – I cannot take that away. You are right – it is all around us. But if you see with the eyes of your heart, you will see so much more.”
But we interrupt again: “Just stop. That sounds like so much new age hooey, Counselor!”
“There is nothing new age about it,” the Counselor replies, “it’s as ancient as the words of the scriptures. With the eyes of your heart you will see the hope to which you have been called. The hope we have in Jesus Christ. Dear ones, this is not some feeble, frilly hope, like we mean when we say, ‘I hope there is cake for dessert!’ This hope we have as our inheritance in Christ Jesus is the most durable and powerful gift possible. It is the promise that God’s love is greater than any hardships we may experience in this world, the promise that we are never without that love.”
The counselor goes on: “Dear ones, with the eyes of your heart you will see how rich is this glorious inheritance! Do you know what it is? It is freedom – by which you may soar above the brokenness of this world, never fully removed from it but always knowing that it is not the last word. This inheritance is peace – the knowledge of God’s all-forgiving nature, the grace that gives us newness of life.
“With the eyes of your heart you will see the immeasurable greatness of God’s power, and you will see how that power may be at work through you. How, you ask? God’s power works through us when we decide to live not only for the moment, but for the hope to which God has called us. God’s power works through us when we decide to live not only for ourselves, but for our neighbors – all of them.”
The counselor paused, but had more to say. “As for the notion that there are no saints? Open your eyes, dear ones. They are all around you. They do small things to make a small impact in the hope that these acts will be drops of merciful rain in a great ocean of other small things. They feed people, sometimes with food and other times with comfort, encouragement, words of wisdom. They try to make things a little better in this world. They try, they fail, they try again.
“They sometimes lose their patience and get snippy. They have days when they don’t feel like being generous, they just want to go through the McDonald’s drive-through, sit in front of the TV and eat junk. They have real flaws, weaknesses, as we all do. They might at times inflict real harm on people – and when I say “real” harm I mean real harm. Like King David did, the one the Bible describes as ‘a man after God’s own heart.’ Yes, he had plenty to repent of. So do most of us.
“Those of us who try and fail and try again to live for the praise of Christ’s glory, as Paul writes in the letter to the Ephesians. Those of us who get angry, get bummed out about everything, but who nonetheless persevere by the power of the Holy Spirit. These are the saints. You are the saints, dear ones.”
Dearly Beloved. Saints of God: Open your hands. Open your eyes. Open your hearts. Receive your inheritance.
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Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash
