Expectations are powerful things.
Super Bowl ad revenue is driven almost exclusively by expectations. Some time in the not so distant past, a few companies decided to spend a little extra time and creativity on ads run during the Super Bowl. It worked. People loved the ads. This began to create an expectation about the future ads. People started actually watching the commercials and paying attention to them during the pauses. NFL and network executives caught on to this and started charging exorbitant amounts of money for spots, fueling our expectations of the ads worth this kind of money to show. Something that we most often skip through or leave the room for on any other day becomes something where people "shush" others and critique harder than the game itself. And we joyfully wade through more than an hour of crap commercials to find two or three that are genuinely enjoyable. And companies endure the hit on their accounts because they know people will watch and even a bad commercial gets talked about, a lot.
Actually the entire premise of commercial ad revenue is based on expectation. If the show is worth watching, we will endure the breaks and ads just so we can watch what we want to. Ad execs and network revenue execs know this so they pay and charge more for spots in more popular shows.
We endure a lot if we expect much. It is ingrained into the deepest core of our being. Our culture knows it and feeds off of it. We are so thirsty as to be insatiable. If we think we can be satisfied, we will endure anything. Therefore, things are offered to quench our thirst and people constantly evaluate just how much punishment we will take as commercial breaks become longer, more frequent and more obtrusive (just look at the evolution of ads in internet video over the past couple of years to know this). As expectations grow, tolerance increases.
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God...And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8:18-19, 23-25
You may have noticed a recurring theme in the content of this blog. Not only the theme of thirst but also the theme of looking forward to something greater as it pertains to various desires that we want fulfilled. You may want me to talk about something else. I would submit to you that there really is nothing else. The problem is we forget to remind ourselves what exactly we are waiting for and our anticipation wanes. Our expectations lose prominence. The eagerness is gone, hope fades and our affections return to the temporal, the mundane and the empty. I know this because I am an "out of sight, out of mind" person. I will only be thirsty for something if it is constantly in front of me.
Over and over, the means by which we strive for holiness and for endurance is directly connected to resurrection bodies or glorification in heaven. We have the goal and purpose of glorifying God and enjoying him forever. Our dedication to that end is directly connected to the way in which we engage our minds in this eager expectation and hope. What we MUST do is to constantly raise our eyes and put into our sight the future vision that God has given us and live like that future vision is a present reality. This is the only way we can patiently wait for anything, enduring everything, lacking nothing. It is the only way we can look at all of the ways the world promises to quench our thirst and know that all that it offers is vanity. We can only do that if we have the promised fulfillment in our sight.
A while ago, I adopted the well known poem in "V for Vendetta" to fit this theme. The character V used this poem as a mantra to motivate his painful and arduous existence, his long term plan and the hard choices he had to make to achieve his ends. There are many verses of scripture that do that for us, as you have seen but I have still found the poetry easier to remember and the message compelling.
Remember remember, our blessed Redeemer
The upcoming season he bought
I know of no reason this upcoming season
Should ever be forgot
If I can remember this, if my expectations are set properly, the Bible says and practical experience with human nature has proven, I can endure anything.
And Scripture promises it will be worth it.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
The Neverending Question or the Neverending Answer?
Curiosity, as they say, kills the cat. However, I would say that little kills the patience of a parent quicker than the question "why?"
Obviously, I am not a parent. However, I have a younger brother who is eleven years younger than I am. I remember very well, in fact I was a know it all high schooler when my brother was in his inquisitive phase. I would take it upon myself to answer all of his questions. I was in high school. Surely I could out-smart this little 5 year old. Surely I could impress his young mind with a volume of knowledge he had just accumulated in 3 minutes and satisfy him. Surely his mind really didn't care that much, he just wanted somebody to answer him.
Surely...
So now I know that when I become a parent, I will NOT be doing that. I will not provide endless answers to the endless questions, at least not with continual reasons. The answer to a why question only prompts more questions, usually another why. While inquisitive minds should be rewarded and answers must be given, they should be the right answers to the right questions. Sometimes, you just don't need to know why. Sometimes there is a far better question that can be asked and a far more satisfying answer to be given.
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion, " says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." Lamentations 3:21-23.
This is a familiar verse, often sung and quoted in prayers. How often do you remember the reference though? This passage is in Jeremiah's lament over the fall of Judah, the exile of his people, the judgment of God upon the nations. Listen to what he says as he laments to the Lord.
"I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation' he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago..." Lamentations 3:1-6
Here is a man at an end of himself. He has nothing left. No home, no family, no health, no wealth, no security. All he has is pain, physical, emotional and spiritual. And yet he never asks God why. In fact, there is only one time the word "why" appears in the entire chapter.
"Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?" Lamentations 3:37-39
This man has plenty of reason to question. He has plenty of reason to wonder at the character of God. All he needs to do is look around and see God's wrath and anger. This man has nothing...
except a memory of who God is,
and this memory give him hope.
The moment we give ourselves to asking why, we are asking God to open the windows of eternity and to show us his plan that spans throughout millenia, countless ages past, present and future. We give ourselves to circumstance, to change, to the ebb and flow of time itself. When we ask "who?", God gives us his word and tells us who he is. We can rest in his unchanging and proven nature, the assurance of his promise and the faithfulness of his provision. "The Lord is my portion" says this broken and suffering man crying out to God.
The answer to the who question is far more satisfying and life giving than the answer to the why question, as Mark Vroegop, lead pastor of College Park Church said in his sermon "The Reverence and Relevance of Job." We need to learn how to ask it. All we really want to know is "Is everything ok?" "Am I going to be all right?" "What am I to do?" We really just want assurance, confidence and purpose. We think that the answer to "why" will give us the security that we desire. God knows better. He simply gives us himself. We get assurance because we know he is faithful. We get confidence because we know he is powerful and we get purpose because we see he is wonderful and all we can do is glorify him.
"Therefore, I will hope in him."
Obviously, I am not a parent. However, I have a younger brother who is eleven years younger than I am. I remember very well, in fact I was a know it all high schooler when my brother was in his inquisitive phase. I would take it upon myself to answer all of his questions. I was in high school. Surely I could out-smart this little 5 year old. Surely I could impress his young mind with a volume of knowledge he had just accumulated in 3 minutes and satisfy him. Surely his mind really didn't care that much, he just wanted somebody to answer him.
Surely...
So now I know that when I become a parent, I will NOT be doing that. I will not provide endless answers to the endless questions, at least not with continual reasons. The answer to a why question only prompts more questions, usually another why. While inquisitive minds should be rewarded and answers must be given, they should be the right answers to the right questions. Sometimes, you just don't need to know why. Sometimes there is a far better question that can be asked and a far more satisfying answer to be given.
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion, " says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." Lamentations 3:21-23.
This is a familiar verse, often sung and quoted in prayers. How often do you remember the reference though? This passage is in Jeremiah's lament over the fall of Judah, the exile of his people, the judgment of God upon the nations. Listen to what he says as he laments to the Lord.
"I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation' he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago..." Lamentations 3:1-6
Here is a man at an end of himself. He has nothing left. No home, no family, no health, no wealth, no security. All he has is pain, physical, emotional and spiritual. And yet he never asks God why. In fact, there is only one time the word "why" appears in the entire chapter.
"Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?" Lamentations 3:37-39
This man has plenty of reason to question. He has plenty of reason to wonder at the character of God. All he needs to do is look around and see God's wrath and anger. This man has nothing...
except a memory of who God is,
and this memory give him hope.
The moment we give ourselves to asking why, we are asking God to open the windows of eternity and to show us his plan that spans throughout millenia, countless ages past, present and future. We give ourselves to circumstance, to change, to the ebb and flow of time itself. When we ask "who?", God gives us his word and tells us who he is. We can rest in his unchanging and proven nature, the assurance of his promise and the faithfulness of his provision. "The Lord is my portion" says this broken and suffering man crying out to God.
The answer to the who question is far more satisfying and life giving than the answer to the why question, as Mark Vroegop, lead pastor of College Park Church said in his sermon "The Reverence and Relevance of Job." We need to learn how to ask it. All we really want to know is "Is everything ok?" "Am I going to be all right?" "What am I to do?" We really just want assurance, confidence and purpose. We think that the answer to "why" will give us the security that we desire. God knows better. He simply gives us himself. We get assurance because we know he is faithful. We get confidence because we know he is powerful and we get purpose because we see he is wonderful and all we can do is glorify him.
"Therefore, I will hope in him."
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