A Day of Hope
A scan of the morning news leaves a very empty feeling. As one headline declared, “Chaos is the order of the day.” Much of what we see and hear is filled with the worst of human nature. Satan is stirred and God is allowing him to vent his anger on the inhabitants of the earth – with special focus on the modern-day descendants of Israel.
The nations chosen by God to be a living witness of His plan of salvation have forgotten their Maker and rejected any semblance of godly morality. A Supreme Court justice is being attacked because he spoke approvingly of the need for this country to return to some form of godliness. That is not going to happen any time soon.
However, what is happening is that God’s plan will not be thwarted. The Father has called a small group of people out of all this mayhem and given them His powerful spirit so they can stand against Satan and his terrible way of life and build moral character. This group carries a special name – firstfruits. Collectively they form the church of the firstborn.
The head of the church is Christ, and His role is defined as the first of the firstfruits. This because He died and was resurrected, the first of many to be raised when He returns to place the government of God over all nations. The firstfruits are being prepared to assist Christ in that rulership.
The Day of Pentecost is a day of hope. It pictures the incredibly efficient process of God’s plan for all mankind to have a relationship with Him. The firstfruits represent a small “harvest” of people to work closely with Christ both now and on into the future. They are to bear fruit for the Eternal (Romans 7:4). That is, the nature and character of God. That fruit will be used to show the world a different way of living.
One day we will have the opportunity to discuss with people why the world came to be as it is. To explain what God intended from the beginning and to demonstrate that in both word and deed. By living through the “chaos” created by Satan, we will be able to speak with some authority because we have “been there, done that”.
We face what everyone else faces now, but with the wonderful addition of the Holy Spirit to put it into a different context.
Let’s determine to embrace the Day of Pentecost and dig into the hope that it lays out before us. Let it fill the void created by worldly events. Let us be firstfruits worthy of the name.
Brian Orchard
