GREAT EXPECTATIONS

A word that God put on my heart earlier this week was ‘expectations’. Then on Wednesday my family and I visited the black country museum in Dudley and we encountered how people would have lived in Victorian times, it reminded me how privileged I am with all the home comforts I take for granted; heating, hot water, a comfortable bed to sleep in and modern-day appliances for washing & cooking etc.

It also got me thinking about the famous Dicken’s novel “Great Expectations”, set in a time when the structure of society meant those from a ‘working’ class background could only dream of leisure time and comfort.

We all have expectations in life and often disappointment can occur when our expectations are not met. In today’s western world the expectations we have are greatly increased to those of Victorian society & centuries previous, where just ‘getting through’ life was all many hoped for.

As well as raised expectations of life and others, it may be that our expectations of God are not fulfilled and this leaves us in a state of bitterness and/or anger towards him. How many of us were told when we first began to enquire about God that if we gave our life to him, he would be with us always, bless us more than we could imagine and reveal a purpose for our lives far beyond we could comprehend. While all of the above is true, life this side of eternity often leaves a vacumn between expectations that we are commonly taught, especially about God and his character, and experience we actually encounter.

What is the GAP in your mind and heart that is hindering you?

Is it:

• An expectation of a lifestyle that has not come to pass because of circumstances (these may be financial, health or some other hardship

• An expectation of having a loving home and the environment is or was to the contrary.

• An expectation of a Leader, Church worker, fellow Christian to be a Godly Man or woman that seems to have not been met.

• Expectations of yourself that you feel you have not reached.

• An expectation of romance that has not come to pass.

Interestingly in the famous Dicken’s novel ‘Great Expectations’, some would say the story seems to be focused on the love the main Character (PIP) has for a childhood friend (Estella) that was unrequited. Dicken’s was even encouraged to change the original ending so that eventually they ended up together. However, the relationship between PIP and Estella was tainted from childhood by Estella’s guardian who because of hurt and rejection taught Estella about men based on her own hatred for men.

PIP became a young man driven by envy (of the upper classes), selfish ambition (if I can become a gentleman I will win Estella’s heart) and jealousy (Estella had married another).

These emotions, i.e. both Estella’s and PIP’s, if not held in check and then dealt with at the roots lead to people not entering into a place of peace with God or others (see Galatians 5:19-21). Unlike Pip and Estella others of us may have tried to live a life free of negative emotions but still do not fully experience peace with God (given to us by Christ’s sacrificial death and subsequent resurrection) or others. Maybe, although we have processed and sought help for negative feelings and emotions we still have discontent because of unmet expectations. Why we may ask?

Maybe the answer lies in NOT starting with trying to manage our own expectations of God, ourselves, others or life, but manage how God wants us to live to reflect his expectation of us.

God created us to reflect his glory to the world (Isaiah 43:7, Ephesians 1:12, 1:14), his glory is his Holiness (the only ‘being’ who is perfect in all of his ways, created all things, of the highest excellence and completely capable of unconditional love at all times). How can we possibly reflect that unless we are full of and living by his Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26), then we can experience total peace with God. We will also find we have peace with others once we encounter that peace with God.

So God’s expectation of us is to reflect his glory, which practically happens when we humbly submit to him and follow the two greatest commandments; Firstly to “Love the Lord our God with all of our heart, with all our soul & with all of our mind, and secondly love those around us as ourselves.” (Matthew 22:37-40). This way we can demonstrate God’s kindness to the world we live in.

Just to say the phrase ‘God’s expectation of us is to reflect his glory’ , may mean nothing to you in abstract ; but wouldn’t you like to mirror someone who is all powerful , strong but gentle, firm but loving, kind but sincere, open but wise, pure of heart and gracious etc. etc. . Would you NOT want to be like that person?

In the Dickens story ‘Great Expectations’ – PIP was an orphan adopted by Joe Gargery, just like God adopts us into his family (Ephesians 1:5), Joe was a loving and caring father to PIP (like God is to us). However PIP became embarrassed and even ashamed of Joe and when PIP was training to be a gentleman (courtesy of a mystery benefactor) in London he snubbed Joe when he visited him. Have you ever been too embarrassed or frightened of what others might think and denied (or simply kept quiet) about God?

Despite being snubbed by PIP who wanted to go his own way in life and ignore Joe (like we chose as mankind in Genesis 3 to go our own way and ignore God), when PIP was very ill and in a lot of debt Joe settled all the arrears for PIP and ensured he was made well, what a loving father!!!

In this fictional story about PIP from boy to Man – PIP was an orphan boy who had some of the following expectations:

• To marry a girl (from another class)

• To have a family of his own

• To become a Gentleman living in London.

Some of these were shattered (in the original version of the novel all were).

However the father who had given PIP a secure loving home as a Boy, Joe Gargery (who Pip had betrayed), freely paid off PIP’s debts and nursed him back to health.

IN THE TRUE STORY OF LIFE – God, who MANKIND BETRAYED by failing to trust him, has freely paid our debt and brings us back to full spiritual health through his Spirit.

Joe’s expectation for PIP was that he would become a blacksmith like himself – PIP at one time wanted this too but distractions of the world around him changed his expectations, God’s expectation is that we reflect his glory NOT by simply acting like him but by ‘being’ like him and he gives us his Spirit to enable us to become like him.

What a wonderful gift and a GREAT EXPECTATION.

Nelson Mandela once said:

“In order to build our nation, we must all exceed our own expectations.”

Maybe God would say “In order to build his Kingdom, we must all forget our own expectations and focus on living a life that seeks to fulfill his expectation of us”.

Then we would exceed our own expectations!

#glory #disappointment #discontent #peacewithGod