John
Dear
Friends in Christ,
What
do people want in life? Judging from the
advertising campaigns and media images we are routinely subjected to we could
make the case that what people want in life is “to have it all.” In fact, that may be more than a goal or an
ideal; for many it has become an obsession.
Because behind it is the idea that the person who “has it all” will
naturally be happy and content.
This
raises the question: What exactly do
people mean when they talk about wanting to “have it all”? Certainly it means different things to
different people, but usually included in the definition are some or all of the
following components:
Financial
success… nice house… physical health and fitness… an attractive spouse who shows
no signs of aging… well-mannered children who later turn into successful adults
that present you with well-mannered grandchildren… a job that is both
challenging and fulfilling, yet doesn’t take up too much time… plenty of
leisure time and money for travel and hobbies… the respect and admiration of
colleagues… personal popularity… a circle of close friends… advanced education
which allows access to opening a variety of different doors… general success in
whatever one puts one’s mind to… and all of this achieved or continued in an
effortless, stress free fashion. Such a
person “has it all.”
The
American poet Edward Arlington Robinson once wrote a poem about such a person. Some
of you may remember it because in the 70’s it was put to music in a song by a
couple of singers named Simon and Garfunkel.
The poem is entitled “Richard Cory:”
We people on the pavement
looked at him;
He was a gentleman from sole
to crown,
Clean favored, and
imperially slim.
And he was always quietly
arrayed,
And he was always human when
he talked;
But still, he fluttered
pulses when he said,
“Good morning,” and he
glittered when he walked.
And he was rich – yes,
richer than a king –
And admirably schooled in
every grace;
In fine, we thought he was
everything
To make us wish that we were
in his place.
So on we worked, and waited
for the light,
And went without meat, and
cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm
summer night,
Went home and put a bullet
through his head.
Wait
a minute. That can’t be right. That doesn’t fit that profile. How could someone with that much going for
them be so supremely and desperately unhappy?
And
so we are confronted with this startling revelation: Maybe Richard Cory and all the other Richard
Corys of this world really don’t
“have it all.” Maybe “having it all” as
most people define it is not all it’s cracked up to be. Maybe all those people in this world
(including ourselves, to the degree that we’re guilty) who are striving so hard
to climb up the ladder of success and accomplishment and achievement are
leaning that ladder against a wall that will eventually give way and crumble
under the weight of our own misinterpretations and misdiagnoses of what
happiness is supposed to be all about…
Thankfully,
God in His Word gives us a completely different definition of what it means “to
have it all.” And it has nothing to do
with having something in our
lives. It has everything to do with
having someone in our lives. And that someone is Jesus Christ. The message of our text, indeed, the message
of the Christian faith is that in Jesus Christ
WE CAN HAVE IT ALL
1. He gives us all we need
2. He provides us with all we want
Toward
the end of the Book that bears his name the Gospel writer John states that
Jesus Christ performed lots of miracles during His three year ministry. John says that although he recorded many of
them, far more could have been included.
He then gives the reason for writing down what he did, and in doing so
really gives the reason why God caused all of the Gospels to be written: 31But these are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name.
In other words, the reason why the Bible was
written is to tell us about an extraordinary individual named Jesus, described
as “the Christ” (a title that in the
original Biblical languages calls to mind His mission as Savior) and “the Son of God.”
And the reason Jesus Christ came to us is so that
through believing in Him and what He came to do we “may have life through his name.”
The life that is linked to Jesus is two-fold: Jesus Christ gives us eternal life through
the forgiveness of our sins (which is all we need) and at the same time
provides us with a fulfilled life in the present (which is all we want). Let’s develop these thoughts.
First,
Jesus gives us all we need.
Let’s return and walk through the last Scripture lesson we heard from
the lectern. It is part of a conversation
Jesus had with a man named Nicodemus.
Earlier in this chapter we learn that Nicodemus was a member of an elite
religious society known as the Pharisees, a respected member of the Jewish
Ruling Council, and a religious teacher by profession. Along with that it is probably safe to say
that he was also financially set.
This information is significant because it means
from a worldly perspective Nicodemus had achieved all the trappings of
success. He had position, prestige, power,
and wealth. He was a first century
Richard Cory. He “had it all.”
And yet, like Richard Corey, he was empty inside. Nicodemus knew that beneath his carefully polished veneer beat the heart of a spiritually destitute, sinful man. He had bought into a religion that said you had to perform your way into heaven, and he knew it wasn’t working.
He was looking for fulfillment. He was looking for truth. He was looking for peace. He was looking for answers. And he knew Jesus had them. So he seeks Jesus out and they begin to talk about the vitally important subject of eternal salvation and getting into a right relationship with God.
Jesus takes him back to an event in Bible history
that as a religious teacher he would have known very well. “Just
as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted
up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” The reference is to a time when Moses was
leading God’s people in the wilderness.
The people grumbled and complained and rebelled. So God disciplined them by sending poisonous
snakes into the camp. People were
dying. In his mercy God heard the cries
of the people and instructed Moses to construct a bronze snake and put it on a
pole. When people looked at it, they
were healed physically…
Jesus uses this Bible story as a springboard for a
higher truth. What the snake did physically, Jesus did spiritually. The “salvation” the snake provided for a time, Jesus provided for eternity. And He did it by willingly and voluntarily
being “lifted up.”
He’s talking about His cruficixion. That cross was the centerpiece of our
salvation, because on that cross Jesus met man’s greatest need – the need for
forgiveness. Here’s the reason this is
our greatest need: The Bible tells us that God asks us to be perfect, to be
holy, to be sinless. And He’s
serious. So serious that the penalty for
failing to be what He asks us to be and do what He asks us to do is death –
eternal death in a very real hell. If we
can’t produce perfection (and we can’t), we need forgiveness.
And Jesus provides it. Here’s the plan: Jesus became one of us and lived that perfect
life as our substitute. After 33 years
of sinless life Jesus then paid the wages of our sin with His death. Three days later as a testimony that He had
accomplished His mission, He rose from triumphantly from the grave.
And here is the best news yet: Everything that Jesus did gets transferred
over to the account of those who “believe
in him.” This has been called the
great exchange. Jesus takes our sin and
gives us forgiveness in return. This
means life for us. Eternal life. God’s justice has been satisfied. Listen
again: “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus gives us forgiveness – and that is the sum total of all we need to
live forever in heaven.
And because Jesus gives us all we need, He at the same time provides us with all we want for a fulfilled life in the present. “Having it all” has nothing do with power or prestige or possessions. It has nothing to do with worldly wealth or status. There are plenty of people who can tell you that happiness is not found in things. There are plenty of people who “have it all” on the outside but are running on empty on the inside…
Here is the simple truth of the matter: Having it
all in this life means having Jesus. So
we ask the question we raised at the beginning of this message: What is it people want?
People want peace.
And Jesus gives it to us.
Specifically… the peace of knowing our sins are forgiven. The peace of knowing we are in a right
relationship with God. The peace of
knowing the very next moment after we close our eyes in death we’ll open them
in heaven. The peace of knowing we are
loved and taken care of and valued and important to God…
But let’s not misunderstand. Jesus doesn’t give us peace from trouble – as
if the Christian’s life will be trouble free.
Because it won’t be. On this side
of heaven we will undergo pain and suffering and hardship; we will feel the sting
of sorrow and disillusionment that comes with living on a sinful planet. But yet we still have peace. Peace not from trouble, but the peace of
knowing Christ is in control even in the
midst of trouble.
What else do people want? People want a sense of purpose. And Jesus gives it to us. In His Word Jesus tells us that we aren’t
just cosmic accidents or the products of a random assembly of molecules and
atoms that came together by chance, but we are here today by His call and His
design. Consequently, we have a
purpose. Our role in life is to enjoy
our relationship with God, proclaim the saving name of Christ to a world that
needs to hear of Him, and day by day happily glorify Jesus for all He has done
for us.
What else to people want? People want freedom from fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the future. Fear of what may or may not come. Those who know Jesus can live without fear
because, even though we may not know what the future holds, we know who holds
the future. And on the cross He has
proven His love and trustworthiness. So
we can go into the future with confidence and boldness…
Peace, purpose and freedom from fear. Our lives may not always go the way we’ve
planned, but when we have these things, truly we have it all. What more can we want?
There is a line in one of our hymns that goes like
this: “Many
spend their lives in fretting over trifles and in getting things that have no
solid ground. I shall strive to win a
treasure that will bring me lasting pleasure and that now is seldom found.”
What may be seldom found for others is known to
those who have Jesus. Because He alone
gives us all we need for the eternal future… He alone provides us with all we
want for the present. Therefore, in
Jesus WE CAN – AND DO – HAVE IT ALL.
Amen.