For the Lord’s Day, June 21, 2020

Dear Saints,

Do you often struggle with being down in the mouth over disappointments (our unmet expectations and surprises)?   Me too.  Here’s something to encourage us.  In his commentary on the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, William Hendriksen writes:

“The future life will not mean the absence of hope, but it will mean the absence of disappointment.  There will be no disappointments in heaven.  Here on earth the twin-sister of hope is disappointment.  There the twin-sister of hope is fulfillment.”

I have often thought and taught that in heaven we won’t need faith and hope because we will no longer be longing for what we don’t yet have or see (Hebrews 11:1 comes to mind).  But indeed Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that along with love both faith and hope will in some sense abide.  Hendriksen helps us consider that they will abide in the sense that our faith and hope in God will have no aspect of waiting to be fulfilled in any way in the future—they will always be satisfied in the now of every moment of an eternal day! 

That thought is worth meditating upon often, don’t you think?  Let it keep our thoughts and affections upon heaven where our lives are hid with Christ sitting on His throne at God’s right hand until He returns for us (Colossians 3:1-4).  This idea also would be much of the lesson of the Olivet Discourse in Matthew chapters 24-25 which I plan to finally tackle with you this Lord’s Day (thank you for your prayers!).  How blessed to know we will be fully and forever satisfied in faith and hope as we love Jesus face-to-face one day!

Semper Reformanda,

Pastor Grant