There are few realities in the human experience that are necessary. Some are physical: food, water, shelter. But others are metaphysical. They are not made up of atoms but are realities of the mind and soul. Without these non-physical realities will be robbed of vital spiritual nourishment.
Today I want to look at the necessity of hope. Hope is the fuel that keeps us going when the world is in shambles. It is the optimism that the darkness of the night will fade with the rising sun. Hope is the inclination to believe that tomorrow will be better than today. This is hope. It sustains and protects us from the morass of human weakness.
We all know, instinctively, that the world is broken. That the human family has some very disturbed and wicked members. That injustice is the tool of the wicked. You may not be the victim of this expression of sin, the fount from which all evil springs, but we all have been witnesses to how bad we can be.
In order to see the power of hope, we have to remember that it is against the backdrop of the dark spots in life that it shines brightest. I really like what J. I. Packer said about Christmas. It helps us to see a little better God’s point of view on this life we live on this speck of dust hurtling through the cosmos.
The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity–hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory–because at the Father’s will Jesus became poor, and was born in a stable so that thirty years later He might hang on a cross. – J.I. Packer
In Jesus there is hope, but it is not a hope that is blind. It is anchored to a promise of what God is able to do. We can hope, and that hope will abide forever because God sustains it by his power and grace. This is why hope works. When we place our hope in God we are not taxing our limited human abilities. We are placing our trust in God’s capabilities. This is the hope of the Gospel. Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again! Glory, Hallelujah!
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation. Psalm 42:5
