Hope

Last week I shared about a friend from college who left this world to be face to face with Jesus. As i was reading a blog from one of his friends at Landing Place Community, I came across this quote from Mark: "There is hope in the midst of hopelessness. Death is not where we lose; the onset of hopelessness is the great defeater. So allow hope to rise up within you. And when it seems that hopefulness is the least appropriate response in this situation, let it rise up even more. Whisper your hope when you lie down at night; scream your hope when you wake in the morning. Live your hope as if it is the one and only thing that sustains you in this ravaged world. You will not be disappointed." -Palmer, 10/03/05 As I reflected on this statement from a dying man, I remembered again why Easter is such a big deal. Easter gives us hope! So much garbage goes on in this life -- disease, war, broken promises, conspiracies, church politics, gossip, slander, murder, deceipt, etc., etc., etc. We have all been wounded by this broken world. But hope moves us forward. Hope drives us to love someone that just doesn't get it, wounds us with his/her words, or takes and takes and takes but never gives back. Hope gets us out of bed after a long night struggling in warfare. Hope pushes us to put on our armor and fight the princes of darkness. Hope encourages us to believe our lives can make a difference. We can have a sustaining impact. We can end poverty, hunger, and violence. Hope says we can be a generation that follows Christ at all costs. So wherever you are at now. Do as Palmer said this Easter season, Allow the hope seeded in your inner being through the love of Christ to rise up. Scream your hope in the face of the enemy. And if all you can do right now is whipser, then whisper hope in the midst of suffering. Hope will not disappoint!