One of my favorite movie series is “Band of Brothers.” It came out about 20 years ago and has been branded as one of the most realistic views of the challenges in war time. It follows the story of real American WWII veterans from the D-Day Normandy invasion into France all the way to the end of the war. I know that Army bases when training soldiers actually require their troops to watch this series to teach them lessons of not only brotherhood in battle, but how to deal with severe suffering and anguish that becomes very real in a wartime situation.
I have never been in that kind of battle, and I certainly don’t desire it. But life for all of us has tremendous suffering and anguish in it. So here’s the question: when you face real challenges in life, what do you do? How do you react?
- Are you an idealist? Then you would put your hand to the work and try to find a solution to the problem or challenge.
- Are you a realist? Then you would feel defeated a lot because the issue never gets resolved.
- Are you an escapist? Then you would run away and try to live a different life.
- Are you a fatalist? Then you would just accept the defeat and be depressed
There are for sure even more personalities in life that just these, but the point is that each of us has a personality trait and we will have tendencies to react to severe trauma and suffering out of that trait.
This Sunday we are going to deal with the fourth of the Gospel Truths that speak to our Identity when we are found IN CHRIST. How we ground ourselves in these Gospel Truths completely dictate how we act and react to the severe situations in life’s battle. As you come this Sunday read ahead. Our focus is going to be Romans 8:18-30. Look over it carefully. Our main point Sunday is that In Christ, I have a Glorious Future! This glorious future is NOT based on your personality trait or background or personal tendencies. It is based on you and I being found in Christ.
What a grand Gospel Truth. This will lead us to the last few verses on Romans 8 that we will deal with on Easter Sunday.
Let’s not overlook that this coming Sunday is Palm Sunday. It begins what we call Passion Week – Jesus’ last week of life that led up to His crucifixion on Friday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday. The week started with cheers from the crowds and led to Friday of the crowds calling for His death on the cross. See you Sunday morning!
