My friend Jason Stryd, who lives and ministers in Kovoso, wrote this beautiful letter. (I knew the man he speaks of, Faik, from my visits to Prishtina.)
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For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
(Rom 8:22-25)
In this time of Christmas busyness, activity and fellowship are you groaning inwardly?
Could it be that this time of year which offers so many reasons for contentment and satisfaction like family, vacation, food, rest and fun is actually a time when we experience the groaning of our souls more than ever?
It is for me. What do I mean by groaning? I mean a longing, a hunger, a cry of the heart that remains in a person even after experiencing some of the best things that this earth can offer. It is a cry that says I am still broken, still subjected to the futility and bondage of decay and sinfulness. It is the cry of a heart that still aches and longs for something, more, something that might quench the soul.
The time that I have longed for weeks has come and is going. I have been blessed by great time with family and friends, better time and fellowship than I ever could have asked for the last few weeks. I have enjoyed celebrating and preparing for Christmas. I have been lavished abundantly with love and care by many. And yet at times my inward groaning has been abundantly clear. It has humbled me and surprised me.
In reality, all the blessings that this world offers in fellowship, family, worship, and time celebrating still leaves us longing for more. We still wait. We wait for the redemption of our souls and our bodies. We wait for the revealing of the kingdom of God. We wait and long for the face of God to be unveiled and to see him in all his glory with all our sickness, worries, fears and pains being burned away in the light of his presence. Our groaning is an expression of hope. It is an expression of our soul that anticipates and seeks the one thing that will fill it, God himself.
Make no mistake, we get glimpses of this in this season and they are good. We fellowship and experience pictures of intimacy in the body that we will know in fullness in heaven. We are marveled by the truth of God, truth that we will see with wide open eyes in heaven. And we experience tastes of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ, a revelation to be fully unveiled in heaven. Yet they all point to God and heaven. They point to something more.
And this is the glory of Christmas. It is the glory of the coming of Immanuel into history, an event that forever has set history in course to its ultimate climax, life with God. We celebrate hope and waiting this Christmas because we celebrate that in the incomprehensible love of the Father, he has sent his glorious Son humbled all the way from stable to the cross for our redemption. And that redemption is guaranteed, mission accomplished. Christmas is a time of hope. It is a present hope that God has invaded our present suffering to suffer with us and our chaotic times to give us peace. But it is also an expectant hope that he has done more than that. He has secured for us eternal life with himself in all its mysterious glory, wonder and promise. And it is living with this hope that frees us to live for today taking every moment captive and frees us to look ahead to the coming of that day for which he came to purchase.
As I was getting ready to send this email today, I received some shocking news. My very good friend Faik in Kosova passed away yesterday from a heart attack. You may remember him as I have spoken often of him. He was 54 years old, a father of 4, and had been sick with Muscular Dystrophy, high blood pressure and headaches. Faik was a joyful man, had recently finished reading the bible for the 4th time in 2 years and was stepping into new areas of understanding and vision for his family and neighborhood. From the beginning of my time in Kosova I have visited him and his family 2 times a week. He was one of the most regular attendee of meetings at church, anything from services, to bible studies, to prayer meetings, to social outings. He always came hobbling down the side of the street with his cane to the church. By the time he arrived he would be tired, but full of a smiling joyful face.
Faik groaned inwardly a lot. Physically he was weak, unable to work and deteriating in his ability to get out of the house. He suffered from headaches and pain. Spiritually and emotionally he groaned from the worry for his family and his inability to provide for them. He groaned with longing for his family and neighbors to know Christ and the hope that he had found. Recently there were times that Faik was just sad for no reason, aching in his heart for these things. One time we talked about the above passage, agreeing that he was groaning for redemption.
I remember a many things about Faik and my time with him. There have been numerous times where I have been over and he has felt very sick and tired. During some of these times we had begun to talk about heaven. He spoke of going first and waiting for me when it was my turn. He joked about hanging out up there with Bill Clinton and the others who were involved in saving the Albanians from the Serbs as he saw them in a funny way as instruments of God for Kosova. As he spoke of these things his face would light up in true joy and expectation, a beautiful thing. It was a confidence and assurance radically different from the normal fateful submission in Islam to a god devoid of love or promise of salvation. Faik was ready.
Why did God take Faik now? I don't know. I wish I was there right now. I wish I had known before I left to say goodbye to my good friend. I can't imagine going back and with him gone.
How will God provide for Faik's family, his children and his home? I don't know, but I am sure that we as a church have a great role in this.
How will his death affect the faith of his family, his children and his neighbors? I hope and believe that it will be like Christ said about the grain of wheat which when it dies bears a great crop. So may the death of Faik testify to many and reap a harvest among those he prayed for and groaned for.
Today Faik groans no more. He loved God and his suffering is ended. He has obtained the reward of his faith, eternal life with God. And this is true because of the reality of Christmas…not lights, trees, food or vacation. But because of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, who came into our world, shed his blood and purchased for us eternity. An eternity that today Faik is experiencing.
So this week when you find yourself groaning inwardly in the midst of fun, family and activity. When you in a moment of quiet find your heart longing for something more, know that there is something more. And this is the hope and promise of Christmas. Our groaning is not in vain, Jesus the Christ has come and though we experience it in part we shall know it in full some day.
Merry Christmas!
Jason
