The Ugly Truth

Let's just start by putting it out there, life is hard, and the older we get the harder it gets, the more suffering we will endure, the greater the trials will be, and eventually it will all culminate with our death! Does this sound cynical to you? Does it sound harsh? If so, I understand that, but it's still true. The reason I start this way is because the trend I see both in and out of Christian circles, is to talk as if the good part is always right around the corner. Think about it, how many times have you been told, "the victory is just on the other side of the wilderness!" or "just wait and see the miracle that God is going to do through this (insert trial, pain, suffering, here) ". In the world it may sound a bit different, but often the sentiment is the same. The idea being that things will eventually get better, life will eventually get easier just you wait and see, or something along those lines.

  The issue is that if we take time to truly consider the trajectory of our lives, things don't get easier, and life doesn't get much simpler. There will always be more losses, disappointments, hardships, trials, sicknesses, complications and even if these don't get you, eventually death will. Recently, I was blessed, when a Pastor preaching at our local Church said "life doesn't get any easier, it only gets harder". The blessing came as I fought against my own desire to deny this reality. I had to sit and consider his words because as I examined recent events in my own life, I didn't want to admit that the worst was yet to come. But when I took an honest assessment, I realized, he is 100% right! As much as I've lost, there's so much more I could lose, there's so much more I will lose, and so much more suffering I will endure, and the thing is, no matter who you are, so will you.

We will all go through the pain of losing loved ones and seeing loved ones in pain, we will all go through the struggles of our bodies failing us, and in some way shape or form will one day no longer be able to enjoy the things we love and love to do. Are you waiting for the upside? Well apart from Christ, there is no upside, eat drink and do your best to be merry, because eventually, you will die! Much of the world is in complete denial of this reality. They and even many Christians, are shocked when any form of trouble comes their way. Most of us end up asking the question "why me?" I know that I have asked that question myself, even recently. But we have got to learn to come to terms with the fact that it's not a question of if, but only when, because it's only by accepting the truth that we can be better equipped to deal with it. 

  Here in the U.S., it's out of control when you look at how spoiled and entitled, we are as a culture. We have a culture that completely expects good things and only good things to happen. We have raised a generation that feels entitled to a good and easy life. Aren't we all supposed to grow up, get married (to whoever we want to), have 2.5 kids (by whatever means necessary) buy a house (way outside what we can afford) and grow old together, with the condition that we make each other happy? (Because after all, isn't happiness the goal?) All of these were at least at one point promoted, though admittedly today some of it is outdated or has been revised. However, the underlining sentiment remains. Happiness, at whatever the cost is what we should expect and strive for. We've all said it, right? "Just do what makes you happy!" As if that's all that matters, well actually, to the culture, it seems it is.

  What this leads to, is quite the opposite though isn't it? What we see, is suicide, depression, mental instability, and sickness all increasing, while the very bed rock of society, the nuclear family, is being destroyed. It turns out that no matter how hard one tries to deny reality, the truth cannot and will not be silenced. As dark and as hard as the truth can be, denial of it seems to lead to an even worse outcome. Happiness is and always will be fleeting, it is not a condition that one can expect to attain for any long or sustained period. If we continue as a culture too set that as the expectation all we can expect, is to continue down the same dark and difficult path we are currently walking.

  The truth, will however, set you free! Because the truth, in this case, is what leads us to one of the most important implications of the gospel. By now, you've probably had enough of the bad news. So, here is the good news, yes life is hard, and it gets harder as you live it, but God has not left us to go through it alone, and He has not left us to endure this difficult state forever. There are many implications of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, living a sinless and perfect life, dying an undeserved sinner’s death, and rising on the 3rd day defeating sin and death that all who would repent and trust in Him, by faith would be freed from the power of sin and the penalty our sin deserves. But what I want to look at, is what I believe is one of the most needed in our culture today and also one that is often lost because of the state of our culture today, and that is, HOPE.

  The gospel points us to the reality that life is hard today and reminds us that one day all will be made right, and all suffering will come to an end. How's that for hope?! Because what Christ has done, I can know that though today I mourn, one day I will mourn no more. That though today I am in pain, one day, pain will be no more. For the Christian, there is hope, for the Christian, there is more beyond the inevitable suffering waiting in this life. The gospel also helps us to understand that in our suffering there is always purpose and not a single tear shed is in vain. God is at work in all of it, for our good and His perfect purpose. Please do not miss this, apart from this good news, there's no good news! It's all bad, always, all the time. Why celebrate anything, because if there's no Christ, no eternity apart from suffering, no God who entered the world to right our wrongs, then there can be no good news today and the only ones who have it right, are the ones who are in total despair.  

  What I see today is a culture being robbed of hope while being sold a lie. When you tell someone that the unattainable is attainable in this life, you have robbed them of real hope. When you tell someone, that real happiness is always right around the corner, and they keep getting to the corner only to find another corner, they will sooner or later either recognize they are being fooled, or what's worse is that they become so disenchanted with this unattainable goal that they give up and instead end up fighting mental illness, depression or even suicide. This life was never meant to satisfy us, it was never meant to be lived as an ultimate and will always only disappoint. Because our satisfaction is tied to our purpose, and our purpose is to glorify God.

  So much more can be said on this subject, but I want to wrap up with this, we have to stop lying to ourselves, to our neighbors and our children. Stop telling people that they can be anything they want to be, stop telling them that things will get better when they grow up, or that they will one day be able to have it all. Look in the mirror and recognize that the only way to enjoy any of life, is to take it for what it is, messed up, with only glimpses of what real happiness and true joy are linked too. Teach the children and others to instead enjoy the glimpses as they point us to what eternity has in store for those who trust in Christ, while also reminding them that trials and suffering are a normal part of this world. Remind all that for those in Christ, there is something much greater than this world that awaits us. All of this will one day pass, the good, the bad and the ugly, but one day all that will remain is the good. Cling to Christ, the assurance of that promise, and as hard as life may get, you will never be without hope.