GREAT EXPECTATIONS

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.  ‎Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.   Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” (Colossians 4:2-6 NKJV)

Charles Dickens wrote a book called, “Great Expectations.”  Long before he penned that title, there was another Book written which has the same theme.  That Book?  It’s the Bible. 

This Book is full of great expectations of what God has in store for His people.  But, it is likewise true that the Scripture contains God’s great expectations for us. 

One of those great expectations is the Great Commission—that God has called His church to share the Gospel with all humanity.  We have a message of hope to proclaim, and any church that is faithful in that has a reason for hope as a congregation.

We must admit that an increasing number of churches appear hopeless.  In large measure they have lost their enthusiasm for evangelism.  Rather than being fishers of men, they have become keepers of the aquarium, as someone once said.

There is many a dry baptistery!  I recall walking through the auditorium of a dying church, and looking into their baptistery.  Not only was it dry, but it was being used for storage—evident that it was seldom used or that there was any expectation that it would be!

Still, even in a setting like that, there is hope—if (and this is the big IF)—that church can once more have a pulse, joining God’s heartbeat for the harvest of souls.  Let us lean on the bosom of Christ, until our heart pounds with His great expectation!