Most people (me included) use the word hope as a verb, like in the closing of a conversation, “I hope things get better.” Honestly, it’s usually just wishful thinking and a way to sound compassionate but that’s not what people need. While there is a active part to the hope that people need, the first thing that our community needs is for us to be a people of hope. The noun form of the word, a hope that is as real and tangible as any problem, issue, or tragedy.
As Christians our hope is based on our faith in the character and promises of God, the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, and the certainty of Jesus’ resurrection.
“We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, ….” Heb 6:18-20 (Msg)
What the Message version calls “an unbreakable spiritual lifeline” the ESV version calls a “steadfast anchor of the soul.” Christian hope is as firm and secure as an anchor and is not dependent on present circumstances but rather upon faith in the words and work of Christ.
But what happens to those of our local community and even those of our faith community that are so hurt, beaten down or fearful that they cannot believe for a different reality, for a future that is better. As the people of NineSevenZero Church it is imperative for us to not only live a life of hope but to also offer that hope in our God and His promises to those who have lost all hope. Sam and Frodo, in Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring trilogy, held onto hope for one another. Sam once offered, “While there’s life there’s hope.” But the converse of that statement is even more true – While there’s hope there’s life.
Hopelessness is a real enemy in our world and our community. It is the doorway to defeat and destruction. We live in a state with high rates of depression and suicide, 16% above the national average, and our local Grand Valley had a suicide rate in 2011 that was nearly 30% above the state average. There are times when a person can’t just pull themselves up by their boot straps and if they are to survive they must draw on the hope of others.
They don’t need wishful thinking, simplistic answers or spiritual platitudes – they need hope packaged in a friend. As people of NineSevenZero Church we purpose to offer ourselves and our hope in the midst of the difficulty, chaos and emptiness of this world because we realize with the Apostle Peter: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,” and the psalmist: “Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart.”
While there`s hope there`s life.
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