Appropriately Expecting Even More

I’ve noticed the tendency in myself–sadly.

I reflect on my interaction with other friends and followers of Jesus and I realize that I have a tendency to think the worst of them. Well, that may be a bit of an overstatement. But I do tend to think that others will often not make good choices, will often not follow through on commitments, will not give themselves fully to what Jesus wants for us, will settle for something a bit less . . . less than what I think I would do in the same situation. I have this tendency to think poorly of others. As if Murphy’s famous “law” (“If anything can go wrong, it will.”) has a corollary that plays out in the lives of Jesus’ followers (“If they can respond in a less-than-Christ-like way, they will!”).

I don’t think I typically come out and say that I think others will disappoint me, fall short of my expectations, and generally not live up to what I think they should in Jesus (as if I had been appointed the arbitrator of what should be done!), but I do find myself thinking that way. And I am sure that such an attitude impacts the way I relate to others . . . whether I want it to or not.

That is what struck me as so refreshing and healthy in reading Paul’s words to his friend, Philemon.

Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say. (Philemon 21)

Paul seems to have the very opposite tendency. He has the expectation that Philemon will “go above and beyond” what Paul might expect. Paul’s view is that Philemon is even a better man than he, Paul, imagines him to be. Paul seems convinced that the reality of Jesus’ work in his friend, Philemon, will result in Philemon living in ways that exceed what Paul might want for him.

This thinking is reflected in Paul’s words to the Corinthians when he writes:

I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. (2 Corinthians 7:3-4)

Paul is so confident in the Corinthians willingness and ability to live well in Christ that he doesn’t write to condemn them but goes so far as to insist that he boasts about them to others.

I do not think that Paul is just “rosy-eyed” when he thinks of Philemon or the Corinthians. I do not think he is subtly manipulating them telling them of his confidence as a backwards way of applying subtle pressure to get them to live well. I think that Paul appropriately expects even more from them than he can think.

And I believe that this confidence is not anchored in Philemon, himself, or in the Corinthians and their ability. I get a hint of the grounds of such confidence in Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13).

Paul is confident in how the Philippians will live–and how Philemon will live and how the Corinthians will live–because he is certain of God’s faithful work in the lives of others (to both enable the growth and provide the “willing” for the work) and he is certain that what God has begun in the lives of others He will bring to a full and complete end.

He is appropriately expecting even more because he is so sure of the work God is doing in the lives of others. And that kind of confident expectation is appropriate . . . and healthy in our relationships with others who know Jesus.

What Were They Expecting?

Jesus said that his followers–those who believe in him–would do the kinds of things that he himself had been doing (John 14:12). The “works” that witnessed to the reality of the Father’s presence in his life would be the very works that Jesus anticipated his followers would also do.

In previous posts, we’ve noticed how this started to play out in the lives of those who hung around Jesus. The twelve ended up doing works that were like Jesus’ works. The seventy were sent to do things very similar to what Jesus had been doing. In the book of Acts, we find followers of Jesus–who were not a part of either the band of twelve or the larger group of seventy–doing the kinds of things Jesus had been doing.

Preaching and teaching with life-changing power. Announcing the breaking in of the kingdom of God into this world. Signs and wonders to demonstrate the reality of that message. Diseased people healed. Demonized people delivered. Prophetic words shared.

The followers of Jesus were participating in an ongoing ministry that had its roots in Jesus’ own ministry and bore a real resemblance to Jesus’ ministry. And given the “great commission” issued by Jesus before his departure from planet earth (in Matthew 28:18-20), he seemed to expect an unending line of disciples and disciple-makers who would teach and train others to do everything he had taught his original band of followers.

That leads me to this thought: What are we expecting? What do we think it means to be disciples, followers of Jesus? What are we expecting will happen in and through our own lives and the lives of others we know who are friends and followers of Jesus?

The early church was facing its first real trial of persecution (recorded for us in Acts 4). The council that orchestrated Jesus’ crucifixion has taken steps against Jesus’ followers. The words and works that Peter and John have been engaged in has come to the attention of the council. They threaten Peter and John. They instruct them to stop what they are doing and release them.

What follows is instructive. Peter and John return to the community of faith. The followers of Jesus, hearing the report of Peter and John, pray. After asking the Lord to “take note” of the trouble they are facing, the believers make two requests of the Lord.

“[Lord,] grant that your bond-servants may speak your word with all confidence, while you extend your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:29-30)

What is fascinating about this prayer is the kind of expectations the believers appeared to have. Peter and John had been carrying on a ministry that resembled Jesus’ own. When threatened and told to stop doing such things, the church prayed that what had been going on would continue to go on.

The church had been participating in a ministry of proclamation and demonstration that looked like Jesus’ own ministry. When told to stop, their response was to ask for the Lord to keep on doing what he had been doing through them. They appeared to expect that they should and would continue to do the kinds of things that Jesus’ had been doing.

And their prayer was answered!