Do you ever feel as if the world has lost its mind?
Do you ever wonder how so much evil can go on – and all too often go unpunished?
Do you ever find yourself dazed and confused, baffled at how so many can believe the lies and deceptions of the Evil One on issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and transgenderism?
If that describes you, have courage. Take heart. You’re not alone.
Evil will not have the last word.
Hope – one of the three Theological Virtues – is a necessary element of the Christian life. It is an essential part of every Christian’s faith. Without hope, we are lost. Without hope, our spiritual life will wither and die.
Hope gives us the strength to weather the storm. To persevere. To live peaceful lives in a profoundly turbulent world.
It can be difficult to cultivate the virtue of hope in the midst of our cultural chaos. Even absorbing just a small segment of our 24-hour news cycle is certain to cause one consternation and angst.
And in some sense, it should. All is not right with the world. Something has gone wrong. All of creation is “groaning together” in our fallen world as a result of the Fall and the corrupting effects of sin.
But there’s good news – our world has a Savior, and His name is Jesus Christ.
As Christians, we believe that Christ will return one day to set everything right. To “wipe away every tear” and to defeat death which “shall be no more … for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4, ESV).
In this – in Him – we have hope.
“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24-25, ESV).
In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis spoke out the virtue of hope. He wrote,
I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same.
So, dear Christian. Press on. Keep the faith. Don’t give up. Move forward. Place your hope in Jesus Christ, in His Lordship and in eternal life with the Blessed Trinity.
“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, ESV).
“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, ESV).
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