Christ Our Concrete Hope

You don’t need me to tell you that we are living in destabilized times. Chaos abounds in the streets and in government from the top to the bottom. One look through a Twitter timeline shows forth our society’s outrage. The secular worldview that permeates current culture brings to bear the logical end of that secularism: mass chaos and confusion. When Christ is not at the center of one’s worldview, hopelessness abounds. Hopelessness results in chaos and confusion, even rage and violence. And unfortunately, we are all too familiar with chaos, confusion, rage, and violence.

However, Christians are called to live differently in culture, even though we live in the midst of said culture. The call to holy living is abundantly hard to follow, especially as we see the cultural tide attempting to wash away any remnant of a Christian worldview. How, then, can we live in a God-glorifying manner in the midst of such a chaotic culture? What makes us different?

Hope. Christ brings us hope through the redemptive power of his gospel. The result of focusing on Christ’s hope is a modeling of Christ himself: Calm in the chaos, rest in the unrest, and surety in the doubt.

Calm in the Chaos

Rembrandt is my favorite artist. The simplicity of much of his subject matter is enhanced by his emphasis on light and shadows. Each Rembrandt work is a clinic on the use of light to tell a story in a scene. Of all of the works of Rembrandt, I’m most intrigued by his The Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633). The painting depicts Christ from Mark 4:35-41, in which he calms the storm. The violent storm is causing the boat to capsize, while the disciples are in various states of fury. Meanwhile, Jesus sits in the boat, calmly teaching. We know the end of the story: The storm is calmed and the disciples marvel at the power of the Savior.

Rembrandt’s The Storm on the Sea of Galilee

Christ’s display of power over the Sea of Galilee is also a microcosm of the calm he calls us to. While the world around Jesus was capsizing and his closest friends were losing their minds, Christ remained calm. Christ asks the fearful disciples, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mk 4:40). The disciples gave into the chaos around because they lacked faith in the power of Christ, who happened to be in the same boat. In other words, they lost sight of who Christ was. 

Cultural chaos tempts us to take our eyes off of Christ and focus on the storm around. While we need to take note of the goings-on around us and engage them with the gospel, we cannot cease to feast our eyes on the glories of Christ. The moment we forget who Christ is, we begin to live as though he doesn’t have the power to bring calm into the chaos.

Rest in the Unrest

In Mark 15, the night before Jesus was crucified, our Savior stood before Pilate to give an account for the “crimes” which he had committed. Unrest abounded, as the crowd demanded that Pilate free the notorious Barabbas and that Jesus must be crucified. A mob mentality took over the logic of Jerusalem, and Jesus was crucified.

However, I want to focus on Jesus in the midst of the trial. While unrest broke out around him, Jesus remained restful. In the face of false accusations, insults, and imminent death on a Roman cross, Jesus said no ill words. His calmness surprised Pilate himself:

“Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate. Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.” The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly. Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!” But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed” (Mk 15:1-5).

In the face of cultural unrest around him—Jesus was even the epicenter of the unrest!—Christ never wavered or lost his mind. Instead, Jesus remained at rest. He knew that all the unrest had to happen in order that he might go to the cross and redeem his own people. Jesus knew the outcome of the unrest: that God would be maximally glorified by the gospel story. We, too, know the end of our story. Despite the chaos and unrest, we know that Christ will reign eternally in the New Heavens and New Earth, and the church will be at rest. When we forget the ending of the story, it’s easy to give in to the unrest of the moment. But we know that ultimately, truth and justice will reign in the Kingdom of God. So we proclaim Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection until he comes again because that is how true rest is found.

Surety in the Doubt

Not only are our days marked with chaos and unrest, but they are also characterized by doubt. The idea of doubt is too deep a subject to spend much space in this article. There are nuances and categories to doubt that could fill several books. However, we live in an age that places doubt on a pedestal, in which Christians are encouraged to doubt the existence of God and the goodness and truth of Scripture, and the exclusivity of Christ—all core tenets of the Christian faith, by the way. Even those who “deconstruct” their faith are given huge platforms (see Rhett and Link, Joshua Harris, and Michael and Lisa Gungor).

Not all doubt is sinful, but doubting the core tenets of the faith, as listed above, is sinful. Sometimes, our doubt can creep in and lead us into a deeper understanding of Scripture, as Scripture does answer every doubt we can think of. Praise God for sanctifying us in times of doubt. But other times, doubt leads to widespread disbelief. This is sinful doubt. This is the doubt that Thomas had in John 20. Because he had not seen the risen Christ in person, he doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead. Later, in one of the most beautiful passages in Scripture, Thomas encounters the risen Christ:

“After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”  (Jn 20:26-28).

Thomas was assured because his doubts were answered by Jesus himself. Thomas proclaimed Jesus as his Lord and his God! 

However, we cannot physically see Jesus on earth, much less plunge our finger into his hands and side. Our doubts cannot be rectified with a physical touch unto Jesus. What do we do in times of raging doubt? How can we find the same surety found by Thomas? We remember the perfect object of our faith. While we are prone to wander and doubt, Christ is a sure and steady anchor. Jesus himself, the Rock of Ages, is the object of our faith. So when doubt creeps in, we can rest assured by reflecting on the perfect object of our faith. 

Conclusion

It is possible to have hope and live differently in a hopeless world. The solution to the woes of our culture and our pandemic-level hopelessness is the source of all hope: Christ himself. In a world of sinking sand, Christ offers concrete footing. When the world is burning, Christ places us beside still waters. Our world is full of chaos, unrest, and doubt, but Christ brings us into a life of calm, rest, and surety through his eternal covenant of peace. 

Christian, if you are finding yourself treading water in the chaos and running out of steam, look to Christ! Gaze upon the one who bore your sin on Calvary’s cross, and have calm rest, and surety as a result of the hope offered by Christ. We glance from side to side at the culture around us, and we proclaim the truth as we journey on, but our gaze is set forward, to the Celestial City. Our concrete hope is in Christ.