“A text without a context is a pretext for a proof text.” D.A. Carson

Mark J.  Keown, in Discovering the New Testament: An Introduction to Its Background, Theology, and Themes: The Gospels & Acts said about the New Testament:

The first step is to understand the text in its original context. That is, we don’t just read it; we study it, and we seek to understand what it meant back when it was first written.

“What if we put the trials and issues of our lives in context?”

Finding the text’s original intent is essential to understanding what it means. Who was it written by and for are questions that need to be asked. What genre is the book in, and is it prescriptive or descriptive? Is it an imperative or written as an indicative? Doing the work will guard the pastor from error and from delivering a sermon that has nothing to do with the text. I have wondered what if we did the same with situations in our own lives. What if we put the trials and issues of our lives in context? Would that allow us to avoid making them worse, or can it clear the mind and give understanding when the problem arises? I believe that is possible.

I had always wanted to do an album entitled “Life in Context.” In it, I wanted to express how isolating specific situations from the overall truth of God’s sovereignty and the believer’s hopes would be damaging. As an example, what if someone found out that their wife or husband was unfaithful? What about the news of a loved one who suddenly passed away? The initial shock and pain are natural, and the sense of disgust and pain should be expected. But what does one do with what they experience? Should they remain in their grief and live a life injured by the loss? What one does with what happens matters, and what determines the outcome is what is at the core of the wounded. Is there an eternal hope that goes beyond the present circumstance? There is, according to Paul.

Paul highlights this hope when speaking about the believer’s freedom from condemnation in Christ. He distinguishes between those who set their minds on the flesh and Spirit and how they are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. He continues in Romans 8:18 to say,

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Paul compares the present sufferings of the believer with the glory that will be revealed. He is putting in context the present suffering as not worth considering over the glory the believer has. He continues to say that we were saved in this hope and that hope that is seen is not hope. We can’t see it, but we must wait patiently for it, and the Spirit will help us with our weaknesses at the moment. When we lose sight of this hope, which, according to Peter in 1 Peter 1:3, is a living hope, we end up with a pretext. A pretext is a false or misleading reason that seeks to justify an action, decision, or belief. It’s a cover-up for the real motive where someone disguises their true intentions or rationale with reasons based on a lie. We develop a false premise about life and lie to ourselves about our present circumstances. For example, we can look at the situation as if it were all there was. Or we can live a life paralyzed by a loss or what others have done to us. Bitterness can be a driving force in someone’s inability to love and trust again. And at the moment, that is all we feel and know, forgetting that there is much more than our present sufferings and pain. We know what happened hurt, and how we think now is what is most tangible.

“Isolating a situation will only create a pretext that relies on temporal consolation with no hope for healing.”

The believer shouldn’t be one to live this way for the rest of their lives, but there are moments. It is moments when a tragedy happens, and it seems there is no hope or escape. Complaints and anger towards God and people are spoken and felt, and before we know it, we have said things and become things we didn’t think possible. This is where we should apply the truth and reality of our hope in Christ.

Richard Baxter said,

Hope is a glorious grace, whereunto blessed effects are ascribed in the Scripture, and an effectual operation unto the supportment and consolation of believers.”

The truth and the reality of our hope is a glorious grace given to us that is in effectual operation, meaning that this hope will produce the desired result of glorifying God amid whatever challenges. Isolating a situation will only create a pretext that relies on temporal consolation with no hope for healing. We can survive and thrive in a situation that presents itself, and no matter the intensity, God will give us what we need in moments of pressure, pain, and loss. Easier said than done, but possible. Especially after the dust settles and the Christian’s hope in Christ fills the heart again.

“We are called to be living epistles whose author is Christ.”

The first step is to embrace and allow yourself to grieve and to believe. By “allow,” I mean to painfully embrace the cross Jesus told us to cling to as a reminder that the cross is not the end, even when all we see is loss and pain, which would be acceptance as a way to move forward. Accepting something may be how to find closure to the point where we are no longer bound by the trauma caused. By “believe,” I mean to be resilient. It means to fight to find closure and strength from what has happened. Without hope, we can do neither. In those moments, we must remember the source of our hope: Christ, who was there in the beginning before all things, as John 1:1 tells us.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus was there in the beginning. Then John 1:14 says, Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us, and his glory was seen. He was seen as the only Son sent from the Father, full of grace and truth. Hebrews 7:25 tells us that Jesus can save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since He always lives to make intercession for the believer. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but one who, in every respect, has been tempted as we are, without sin. This is the context. We have a savior who Himself felt the grief and suffering, who is the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. He will come for us and heal us from all the suffering and loss we experience. What a great Savior!

He has saved us from sin, the wrath of God, and from living a life of hopelessness. This is good news and worth publishing not just with our pens but with our lives. We are called to be living epistles whose author is Christ. If we can only remember this, can we place all of our present sufferings in the context of His glory? May God open our eyes to those moments where all we see and feel now is pain and suffering. He can do that for us, and one of the ways that He does this is with His word, led by the Holy Spirit, who is not only our Teacher but our Comforter.