Since the ladies retreat in March I’ve been mulling over the topic of expectations and how it relates to faith. I’ve thought a lot about the subject and could spend days discussing all the different perspectives that I can see in the Scriptures, but the theme that I have found repeating itself remains the centrality of an eternal perspective.

Why would God not move and do the thing that we think would be good and right and glorifying to Him in the moment? He sees all of eternity and can evaluate with perfect knowledge whether that thing is the BEST thing or not. We don’t know whether a thing is really the best thing or not when held in light of eternity. We see only in the finite.

My own expectations and desires, as dear as they are to my heart, are still finite. I was re-reading The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis again the other night and once again I was left pondering the quotes below.

How many of my expectations and desires are simple little mud pies compared to what God really has planned for me? What will I miss if continue to focus on what I think I want in this life? If I fail to make the hard choices (over and over again) to lift my eyes up and look beyond the circumstances of the finite, then I lose sight of the hope, the true expectation, that will never disappoint and the eternal perspective that is so central to the Scripture.

“Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like the ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot image what is meant by the offer of a holiday by the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

“If a transtemporal, transfinite good is our real destiny, then any other good on which our desire fixes must be in some degree fallacious, must bear at best only a symbolical relation to what will truly satisfy.”

On a side note: I think that eternity, including teaching on heaven and the Kingdom, may be one of the most under-taught aspects of the Scriptures in the modern church. I understand the catch phrase that someone can be “so heavenly minded they are no earthly good,” however, what we often refer to as the apostolic hope, what we really believe about eternity, effects every aspect of our Christian life. We were made for more than this world and if you want to challenge yourself to awaken hope in your life I’d recommend doing a Bible study on the theme of the Kingdom and Eternal Hope, in both the prophets and the New Testament. For further reading I would also recommend Ted Dekker’s The Slumber of Christianity and, of course, C.S. Lewis’ essay The Weight of Glory. Below is another quote from the essay, not on the subject of expectations and desires, rather on the subject of how our views of eternity and the eternal nature of mankind impacts our life here and now, just for thought.

“It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often of too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility will carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspections proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”

I love to read. The words on the page couple with my imagination make the story 1,000 times more real than any movie portrayal. Yet, I rarely read anything not written for the Christian market anymore. I simply grew tired of being entertained by stories containing images that I should not put into my mind. But recently I picked up a fantasy series from the secular market based on the recommendation of one of my favorite authors. And I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, it is one of the most compellingly written series that I have read in years.

My favorite type of book comes from the fantasy genre. In fantasy, the battle of good against evil looms larger than life and everyday events and common people transform into heroes in the middle of an epic tale. In a sense it compares strongly to the Christian life. We know that our battle is not against flesh and blood, that a war in the heavenlies exists around us and that our prayers and simple obedience (or disobedience) influence the outcome.

One theme from these books that caught my attention focused on the life and responsibilities of a man sworn to a king. Once the main character gave his word, he stood bound by it. The king possessed the power to tell him what to do, where to go, who to marry or not marry. All of the choices that an individual takes for granted were subject to that oath. Much like a solider today is deployed without being asked. He gave his every consent to go anywhere at any time when he enlisted. In the Scripture Paul uses the analogy of a solider to express this point. He also uses the analogy of the slave and the bond servant. When we chose Christ, we gave Him our very lives. Our lives no longer belong to us to direct, but we stand entirely in His service to do whatever He calls us to do.

Now for us it remains a good choice, for we have a Holy and Righteous King that will always choose what is best. Our difficulty lies in not always perceiving the entire plan from our viewpoint in time. We, in our sinful nature, often want to go our own way and choose our own course. But we no longer hold that right. We pledged our service to our King when we accepted His offer of life.

In the middle of the second book one quote stood out. It stated, “Sometimes, it would be much easier to die for one’s king than to give one’s life to him.” I struggle in this area of my Christian walk. I entertain no doubt of the depth of my convictions, of my love for my Lord and King. However, continually laying down my wants, desires and comforts in order to serve Him as He directs comes with both struggle and the discipline of time.

True Christianity through a relationship with Jesus Christ presents two sides. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Compared to the weight of the yoke of sin and the burden of death there exists no comparison. And we possess joy and peace and the comfort of a true friend to see us through life. There remains, however, the fact that we are called to carry our cross and I believe we too often overlook this facet of the Christian life. We gave our lives to a King and they are His to command. Whatever He wills, wherever He leads, we are compelled to follow His bidding by our oath and by our love for Him.

I love how novels often invite a new perspective into a common aspect of life. I appreciated a fresh look at this theme and the reminder of all that it entails for me as a follower of Jesus Christ.

The novels were The Farseer Series by Robin Hobb.