Deep Breaths

While in Italy and Greece back in March with a group of students, I had several conversations with our tour guide, who was a native of Florence, Italy and well educated. He also was very interested in current events and on more than one occasion, he asked me “What’s wrong with your country?” He would also say, “Do Americans realize that what happens in their government impacts us as well?”

Who among us hasn’t wondered of late, “What in the world is going on?” The Rasmussen poll of likely voters for the time period of 21-25 August says that 31% of likely voters think the country is headed in the right direction; 62% on the wrong track. In early July the “wrong track” number was as high as 70%. Few people seem to think either option for president is particularly encouraging.

In some of the conversations I hear, it seems like Chicken Little was correct – the sky is falling!

What’s a believer to do?

Take a deep breath.  That would be a good place to start.

In Colossians 1:15-20, we read what likely was – at least in part – an early hymn the church sang. When I think seriously about the socio-cultural reality of following Jesus in first century Greco-Roman culture, I’m a little embarrassed at how easy it is to think “the sky is falling” in my culture.

The hymn has two dominant ideas: Jesus’ superiority to all created beings in verses 15, 16, and His superiority as head of the church and God’s sole source of reconciling sinners to Himself in verses 18-20. Standing right in the middle of those two massive theological ideas is verse 17: “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (ESV)

With emphatic language, Colossians 1:17 declares the superiority of Christ and His power to sustain the world He created. As Jerry Sumney says in his commentary on Colossians, “the Colossians hymnic piece attributes to Christ the function of sustaining the cosmos, thereby asserting that the whole cosmos and all the being in it are continually dependent upon him for their very existence.” (Colossians: A Commentary, 90)

My pastoral take on what Paul is suggesting, in reasonably decent southern lingo sounds something like this: “Take a deep breath: As long as God wants the world here, it will be here. When God decides time is up, not a thing my worrying can do to stop that.” And even then I don’t think the long-term plan of God is destruction, but renewal and restoration of creation to its God-intended purpose. 

What if we who truly believe that Jesus is the agent through whom the world came in to being and is the head of the church and in fulfilling those roles he “holds the cosmos together” – what if we started modeling our hope – steadfast assurance – that what we have given to God, He has the capacity to keep until that day of renewal? (2 Timothy 1:12) 

 

What if instead of “the sky is falling” we were looked upon as people of hope?

Then the words of 1 Peter 3:15 would come alive as Peter intended them: “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you: yet do it with gentleness and respect.” (ESV)

Unless we are modeling hope – there’s no reason for anyone to ask about our lives.

Take a deep breath!