Great Expectations is a book. Many of us may prefer to keep it as a book and not a burden. Is it wrong to have expectations, even great ones, for ourselves and our children?
Christ is born. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. These simple sentences hint at the basic creeds and beliefs of Christianity. The birth of Christ, which we all celebrated this past week, is a reminder of our need for a savior. For as Athanasius said, "It was our sorry case that made the Word come down, our transgression that called out His love for us, so that He made haste to help us and to appear among us."
Christ is risen. It it through the resurrection that Christ declared His victory over the grave and for His called. Paul reminds us in his letters that we have a hope that is based on the very real event of the resurrection of Christ. This is not a false hope, but a real hope. In the resurrection of Christ, we are called from our former selves of slaves to sin and into His kingdom.
Christ will come again. Because Christ has proven himself by His resurrection, He can be trusted to do what He says. He will come again. The reminder that He is coming again should invoke in us a sense of duty. Obedience to the King out of love for what he has done follows our calling. We are not just called from something, but also called to something. We are called to righteousness. This is what James refers to when he tells us to show our faith by our works, and what Paul means when he says to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We are not working to save ourselves, Christ has done that for us already. Instead, we are working the works of our Father in heaven because we have received His love and we are called to great expectations.
Back to our question: Is it wrong to have great expectations of ourselves and our children? For we are called to be partakers in the glory of Christ, what greater expectation is there than that? Through this love of God and love of His creation, we are working. It is hard work, for we toil in a fallen world searching for the perfect infinity. This work includes, but not limited to, preaching the gospel, teaching biblical truths, learning the language of God's creation, studying the created world, and serving the kingdom.
May we all discover God's calling to us as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Soli Deo Gloria