Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
If it please the court, I rise in defense of “triumphalism.”
This has been a term of ridicule within Christianity for a quite a while. The too-triumphant man is a fool. He is, in the immortal words of Cosmo Kramer, a “cock-eyed optimist,” worthy of derision.
He is ignorant of how the world works, apparently. But, the poor fellow will learn the hard way, as we all have: The optimist will be muted by reality.
We are told it's dangerous to be too triumphal in our faith. Bad times are right around the corner and cannot be escaped. You can't just go on rejoicing in the promised victory we have in Jesus, since trials and tribulations are coming. The better way, we are assured, is to be thankful when good things happen, then do your best to keep your chin up through the bad times. This is called balance.
Let my plea be entered here plainly. I reject that sort of balance as pagan and unbiblical. If I am charged with being radically triumphant in my faith, then let my voice ring out happily in the courtroom: I am guilty!
If I am cross-examined, one may ask, “What? Do you deny, sir, that hardships, losses, and grievous difficulties may come to the life of the believer?”
“No, I don't.”
“Then, isn't it irrational to go on in your triumphal tones, thanking Christ for continual victory?”
“Not according to the apostle who taught us that, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Does that sound like defeat to you?”
It's not that I don't accept the reality of suffering. It's that I reject that such suffering is a defeat for the child of God.
In fact, I call that particular apostle as my first witness. I enter Romans 8:28 into evidence, where he claimed that all things work together for good to the one who loves God. I might ask if he was sure about that, just for the theatrics of hearing him reaffirm it. When he did, maybe he'd also repeat his own statement from a few verses earlier, where he claimed that the sufferings of this world are not even worthy to be compared to the glory that will be ours in Christ.
Thanking Paul for his testimony, I call my second witness, James, and ask him to explain the beginning of his epistle: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds (James 1:2).
My third witness is Jesus himself, that Good Shepherd who has promised to be with me always. I would reference the Beatitudes, and ask how it could make sense that poor, mourning, mistreated people should be told to rejoice and be exceedingly glad. His answer would be cool water on a hot day.
I rest my case. Condemn me or acquit me, it is the same, as long as I can walk in my foolish triumphalism, believing Christ gained the victory on my behalf. I am no simple optimist. I simply trust the promises.
Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari. Contact him at:
