on hope

In the end we are all merely searching for happiness. We are searching for the places that our hearts can call home; places where our hope will not be broken. Sometimes we catch glimpses of these things. At dusk, when the sun is going down and the red and purple colours touch the horizon and we are reminded of how even the end can be a beautiful thing; when a baby is born and we are reminded that crying out can bring us life; when we sink into the couch beside our best friends and our families and we are reminded of what laughter sounds like.

But our world is constantly pulling us apart and pulling us together. Full of confusing tragedies that cause us to doubt the goodness we used to feel, every day it continues to drive us towards ends and through difficult means. Our humanity often fails us and the earth continues to deteriorate slowly as resources become scarce.

We have been beaten down and we are broken. Others have stolen joyful moments from our lives; violent men have caused us to fear; our children have died inexplicably; war and crime and hate seem to be winning.

We call out to God desperately, asking to see His hand at work. Sometimes we are left confused.

But the things of this world, our experiences here, they are not what we can hold onto. These moments are fleeting. It has become apparent to me that Jesus Christ must be the source of all our hope. Without His love, His forgiveness, and His promises, even the joyful moments of our lives will become void of meaning.

It is for this reason that I have put my hope in Jesus Christ. Mankind is fallen and broken and has failed us; we cannot put our hope in our own humanity, as history shows it has often left us found wanting. We cannot even place our hope in the Church, an institution that has done nearly as much evil as it has good. We can only place our hope in Jesus Christ; the only constant in our lives. With Jesus as the source of all our hope, we will not be left in such a hopeless despair over the state of the world. Instead, we will eagerly wait for the day when all tragedy will be reconciled and the joy that we have caught glimpses of will become the beautiful reality.

In times of tragedy may you remember that the day is coming when pain and mourning and crying will cease. And in times of joy may you be reminded of what hope feels like and realize that with Jesus Christ, our Hope is already here.