“I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.”
I was watching one of my favorite shows the other night – Deal Or No Deal. If you’re not familiar, the host, Howie Mandel guides contestants as they attempt to win $1 million. They do this by being shown 26 concealed cases. They pick one case with the hopes that case is worth $1 million.
There is a banker who does not want them to win. After the contestant opens several cases exposing different dollar amounts the banker makes an offer to get them to quit chasing the ultimate prize of $1 million. The offer is of course less than $1 million and she tries to get you to settle for something lesser.
This is the dilemma that we find ourselves in. There is an ultimate prize that God has for us, but our adversary, the devil, offers us lesser things to try to get us to settle. God has something greater for us. It’s not just that we’re chasing some tangible thing like houses, clothes or money. It is Christ.
In this game it thrives off of hope, but it’s a worldly version of hope. It’s by luck or by chance. There is no real certainty. In Christ hope is totally different. It is that which we fully expect to receive. We are certain that Christ has died for us and was raised again so that we would have life abundantly. We have a blessed assurance, but the devil tries to convince us that we are missing something that we already have.
The hope of the gospel is a sure thing. We are tempted to settle for lesser things, but they do not compare to the glorious riches found in Christ. There is nothing Satan or this world has to offer that is better than what we have in Christ. It’s tempting. It’s even pleasurable for a moment, but pales in comparison to what we gain in Christ. Goodbye world. It’s no deal.
That leads us to our Throwback Theology Song of the Week. This is from CHH vet R-Swift. This is from his 2007 project entitled “Revolutionary Theme Muzik.” The featured track is called “Smile.” Tune into the Trackstarz show this week to hear DJ Jeremaya spin this for the Throwback Theology Song of the Day. Until next time…
Peace and blessings,
Damo
https://open.spotify.com/track/5GRvuC5tf7YWnLqgvhY9Pv?si=NQ4h9a5qRFKp3aSafRynVg
