May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. – Romans 15:13
It seems obvious that today there are many people who are without hope. Worse than this, they don’t seem to even realize that they have no hope. Instead, while they plod along and complain about various things, they imagine that they see things plainly – they think that what they see is a sufficiently comprehensive view of reality. They are justified in complaining, because from their own perspective things are bleak. Meanwhile, what they don’t see is that there is much more going on and so much more to come! Without realizing this, they literally have no hope.
The Bible tells us that things are simultaneously worse than they appear and more hopeful than they appear. It’s like the small hole in the asphalt in the middle of the road of the 100 block of East Gresham Street. On the surface, it doesn’t look like a big deal. Why doesn’t the mayor send some people around to cover it with hot mix? Upon inspection, it expands into what appears to be a hollow cavern below. I stuck a yardstick in the hole and measured a depth of at least 18 inches – much bigger than what the 8-inch round hole suggests. I’m not a road engineer, but my guess is that something (a leaking pipe?) is causing something akin to cavitation that is eroding away the base material. If so, then the road is in much worse shape than it appears. Placing hope in surface repairs is artificial hope. To avert disaster, the root cause must be addressed.
Wishing that people would be nicer and that corporations and governments would operate more thoughtfully is a false hope. I don’t mean that pursuing such ideals is altogether bad. I mean that placing one’s hope in better stuff so that we can live more happily is morbidly ignorant. God calls us to glorify and enjoy Him. We are to prepare for eternity by learning how to celebrate His goodness. God offers such preparation through the work of His Holy Spirit and the truth offered to us in His Word. We learn to celebrate Him as we work together in collaborative fellowship. Such fellowship begins with gaining new perspectives – on how bad things are deep in our souls and how good things are in God’s provision and His plan.
For those who read, understand, and believe what Revelation 21 says, there IS hope in the reality of what God is doing in this world. Verse 4 promises, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” The better that we understand and rely on this hope, the better that we can grasp reality and the better that we can encourage others to do the same.
What does it take to gain new perspectives? The first step involves our values – in particular, valuing what others know and see. Until we acknowledge that our own perspective is limited, we will continue to pretend that our view is sufficient. Until we believe that others have something to offer, we will cling to our view of reality. We see this futility at work in the echo chambers of social media. Instead of asking questions, we blog answers and “follow” those who are like us.
Instead, we could repent of our self-centered insistence that we know best; we could ask for forgiveness for our pride. With the help of God’s Spirit, we could humbly admit our satisfaction in cheap happiness and false hope. Let me encourage you to recognize the reality of the forgiveness that Jesus purchased for you with His blood. Let me encourage you to delight in His infinite grace.
Through forgiveness, Jesus converts His zealous enemies into earnest witnesses of His grace. I pray that you are testifying to His grace this week. I look forward to celebrating the grace of Jesus Christ by worshiping with you this Lord’s Day! Let us abound in real hope!
