promises

Brad East: The gospel does not promise you health. It does not promise you wealth. It does not promise you anything in this life except the person and work of Jesus. You may or may not get married; you may or may not have children; you may or may not live long; you may or may not live well. You may suffer trials, you may endure squalor, you may know little more than pain, fear, and isolation. You may be homeless and friendless, utterly abandoned by this cold, dark, unforgiving world. God does not promise to spare you any of it. In fact, Jesus himself promises that some of us, just by being his followers, will suffer these things as a result (John 15:18–16:33). This is absolutely unquestionably correct, though even if you have attended church all your life long you may not have heard it. But what promises have we been granted for the world to come? Here C. S. Lewis in “The Weight of Glory” is helpful: The promises of Scripture may very roughly be reduced to five heads. It is promised,…