Articles
Expectations
I was at a cookout once and picked up what I thought was a hamburger, but it wasn’t. It
was a veggie burger. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad. It had its own unique taste, but it just
wasn’t a hamburger. Or maybe you have been to a restaurant and ordered a Coke and they bring
you a Pepsi instead. It’s just not the same, our expectations were not met. We all have
expectations, we simply can’t avoid it.
We expect the sun to come up tomorrow and we expect people to treat us a certain way.
Expectations can be helpful when they are grounded in reality. The problem is that we often have
expectations that are not met. People disappoint us, or we feel the world lets us down. The
hardest expectations we have are often the ones we have about ourselves and they are often the
hardest to change.
The Bible tries to explain to us the reality of our situation. When we understand the
reality in which we as Christians live, then we can change our expectations to match that reality
and then it’s less likely we will be disappointed. There is one passage in particular that I find
helpful in both bringing me down to earth and lifting me up to heaven at the same time. “But we
have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from
us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our
body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2
Corinthians 4:7-10). This passage has been one that I have studied and used to help me check
my expectations.
In one short passage we are told that we are simple jars of clay but, that we also contain a
treasure. In the next chapter Paul compares Christians to a tent and gives us a glimpse of our new
body and the new home in heaven with God. When we have our feet planted firmly on earth and
our eyes always turned to heaven, then we have a better chance of having realistic expectations.
Humble power seems to be what God is trying to teach us. We are that simple clay jar, but as
Christians, we are full of treasure —the knowledge of the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:6).
~ Brad Tolbert
