Whole Day 13 The Hope Of Wholeness

Marietta Taylor
July 6, 2022

2 Corinthians 5:1-7
Revelation 22
Psalm 34
Luke 11:33-36
Psalm 19:7-14
Hope.
Trusting in, waiting for, and looking for.
Those who are broken hope for wholeness.
And aren’t we all broken in some way, big or small?
In seeking wholeness, we easily find ourselves looking for healing from wrong sources.
The Bible talks about our misplaced gazes so we can recognize them and reject them.
We look to idols such as
money (Luke 16:13),
popularity (Galatians 1:10),
politics (Matthew 22:21),
and possessions (Luke 12:16-21).
We try to heal ourselves through things like
willpower (Romans 7:19-20),
sex (Hebrews 13:4),
ambition (1 Corinthians 8:2),
and a host of others (Colossians 3:5).
Do any of these actually heal our brokenness?
Absolutely not. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
We look everywhere but the one true place to fix our eyes and be made Whole.
Only one place exists where our hope for wholeness can be perfectly fulfilled.
The apostle John described it like this,
“Then he [an angel] showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, and there will no longer be any curse.” (Revelation 22:1-3)
Of this place where Wholeness knows no end, Jesus said to His disciples,
“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the way to where I am going.” (John 14:1-4)
Where was Jesus going?
Do we know the way to where He went?
Absolutely!
He was going back to His Father, Our Father God, in heaven.
Heaven, where we will be…
wholly united with God.
wholly worshiping Him.
wholly free from fears, tears, and suffering.
wholly unbroken.
(Isaiah 25:8-9)
This is the place we long for as we suffer many things in our “earthly tents”.
2 Corinthians 5:2 says, “Indeed, we groan in this tent, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling.” We groan because here we are broken and not whole.
Yet, we are not without hope for Jesus is our Living Hope.
(1 Peter 1:3)
Through His sacrifice on the cross we are able to enter Heaven, despite the load of brokenness and sin we carry. His blood paid the price for our sin, cleansing us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior is the key to turning over our brokenness and allowing Him to usher us into wholeness.
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.” (Revelation 22:14) Our dirty robes of sin and death are washed clean by the blood of Jesus, “Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are crimson red, they will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)
We live today with our brokenness while focused on the guarantee of wholeness in Heaven. But how do we live today, while longing for eternity? Scripture gives us direction, if we’re paying attention.
Truthfully, I’m not always paying close enough attention. It’s easy to get wrapped up in your own brokenness and the sharp edges of those around you. Add in the broken world we live in and we become even more distracted from Scripture’s clear commands that light our paths. (Psalm 119:105) But the Bible is our lighthouse, our beacon, our “you are here” map with the star planted squarely on heaven as our destination.
Psalm 19:7-14 tells us these things about the Word of God, the Bible:
- The perfect Word of God revives our souls
- The reliable Word of God makes us wise
- The “rightness” of the Word of God should cause us to rejoice
- The pure Word of God enlightens us
- The fear of the Lord (as we read the Word of God) is cleansing and proves eternal
- The rules of the Lord (found in the Word of God) are true and righteous
- The Word of God is worth desiring more than anything on earth
- The Word of God should cause us to read, study, memorize, apply it to our lives and share it with others
This is what we desire so deeply at Gracefully Truthful. We want every one of those statements to be true for everyone’s life. We take this verse to heart as we study alongside you, “If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.” (Luke 11:36)
We want the Word of God to shine so brightly in and through you that people are drawn to it and gain their promise of wholeness through faith in Christ. We want it for ourselves, for each person in our ministry, each of you reading this today, and for every person we encounter.
God came to save all (2 Peter 3:9) and He invited us to be part of that effort. (Mark 16:15-16) What a privilege that He would make us co-laborers with Him in His redeeming work. (1 Corinthians 3:9) We cannot neglect this incredible opportunity!
Bless and praise Him always.
Boast in Him, not ourselves.
Proclaim His greatness, not ours.
Seek Him when we need rescuing.
Have reverential awe of Him.
See that He is good.
See that He is Provider.
Keep our tongue from evil and deceit. (Psalm 34:1-13)
“Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it.” (Psalm 34:14)
Do all these things, not alone, but by the power of the Holy Spirit living within us.
This is how we live broken with an eye on wholeness.
We boldly share this Hope with others so the nations, each incredibly broken on earth, can be healed by the leaves of the tree of life in Heaven.
I want us all to rejoice on that day. So, shine forth your light from your beautiful, broken lantern and give His light to the world!
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Prayer is central to our ministry as believers in Jesus as we carry eachother’s burdens and intercede for one another. Our team is honored to share the work of praying alongside you!
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