A Living Hope

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" - I Peter 1:3-4

Christians are supposed to be a happy lot. always smiling, always cheerful. Turning cheeks wherever we go. Smurfily dancing and "la-la"ing through the oversized flower garden of life. (Unless you try to touch our guns, or states rights, or individual rights, or national pride, or whatever else little niche we deem so important that our Christianity is used as it's proof, to the point where the niche is more important that the Christianity...these we guard like a Bengal Tiger over a fresh kill!)

OK, my sarcasm is on a roll here. But Christians are expected, by the world, to be happy. And we do have reason to be. So why are there days when I feel dead inside?
 
(In God's usual sense of humor, the moment I wrote those words, an ice cream truck was at the office, and there were freebies for everyone!)

The question still remains though. There are times when life seems overwhelming. Multiple pressures from all directions hammer us into a battered, broken pulp. Those times when it seems the only thing pulling us through the day is the end of it. When we look down, face in our hands, and cry "How long, O Lord, how long?"

The trick, it seems, is not to look down for too long. I'm not saying to ignore what's around you; that would be a lie. Even David knew "A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand", but he also knew "but it will not come near you". (Psalms 91:7) He could cry out, saying "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1) then "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me". (Psalm 23:4)

What kind of faith can produce such hope?  It seems like just wishful thinking. Can it be because the hope is not in our own selves, but in someone else? Not a relic of history, but in the living, breathing presence of Jesus? In the power of Almighty Father God? In the omnipresent Holy Spirit, with and among us? It is a LIVING HOPE, that carries us when we no longer have strength. Urges us on when we do. Our hope is not an impersonal ideal, not a platitude or gimmick. It is Jesus, the Christ, living presence of God. He is alive. And in His arms, in His love, so are we. 

So, even when all seems lost we "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:14) And when we're hanging off a cliff and at the end of our rope, don't bother looking into the chasm below, but look up to the one pulling us out!

There's A Fly In My Primordial Soup

I read this week where they are remaking the book and film "Lord of the Flies" with an all female cast. As one would expect, this has not gone without controversy. First, many are upset with Hollywood that a script for an all female cast is being written by two men. OK, I can see that. Second, many women are upset at being presented as becoming so vicious and violent. They counter that women would not behave that way. They would separate into natural groups and exist peacefully. My wife is still laughing at that one.

So let's start with the assumption that there would be tension, even violence, with the caveat that it may manifest in different ways that men would exhibit. That would still prove William Golding's original premise correct. Without control, people will fall to their basest instinct. This would be true for men or women, black or white, red or yellow, or any other groupings that can be considered. In essence, if you're human and you know it, clap your hands. (Clap, Clap)

This is the Bible's premise as well. All are broken, and have been since the fall of Adam. I speak a lot about God's love, and His forgiveness and grace. My favorite verse is from Isaiah 61:1, and quoted by Jesus in Luke 4:18-19. "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted." But for there to be healing, there must first be something broken. And we are, all of us. Even after He puts his new heart within us, we will sometimes slip and fall short of His goals. No one has ever achieved His perfection. And yet we seem to see perfection in ourselves, and notice the shortfalls in others. Remember the verse about the mote in the eye? (Matt 7:3)

I'm seeing much more groupings of hatred than I ever remember before. It's not that these didn't exist, but I think the barriers, the CONTROL, that held them back is no longer as strong, and the hate has become bolder. To stand against this, and we must stand, we cannot allow ourselves to fall into the same pattern of hate. That only creates more. An eye for an eye only causes two people to be blind. So how do we fight hate with love, if all of us are on the same broken playing field?

The love we need only God can provide. Only He loves not because of what we have done, but because of Whose children we are. Only His love can be greater than hate, His light greater than darkness. To find it means to empty ourselves of pride and bigotry, and to think of people, not groups. Individuals, not generalizations. Love each person as God loves you, quirks, faults, and all. (And I mean YOUR quirks, faults, and all. I of course am faultless.) See how easy it is to forget. 😃

Next time someone or something causes hate (not necessarily anger, there is a difference) to rise in you, make sure to step back and breathe. Pray. Ask how God would want you to approach it. Listen to what HE says. Take that fly out of your soup, and Go with God.