Hope of Abraham

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping--believing that he would become the father of many nations. These words from the 4th chapter of Romans are a reminder to us that even when the darkest clouds are in our horizon and there seems to be no reason for hope...keep hoping. The past several years I have clung to the promise of the hope of God, the hope of the resurrection, that through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection this world is not all there is. Through the resurrection present circumstances and situations are not all there is to life.

It is the hope of the resurrection that not only comforts those who face terminal illness or the loss of a loved one, but that gives us the drive each day to see other people cling to the hope of God. Perhaps life is perfect for you right now, it might not always have been...was hope in the midst of a hopeless situation what got you through that ordeal? As I journey in my faith I have come to the conclusion that clinging to the hope in God's promise of his presence, his grace, and his love are the sustaining forces behind the heroes with all their hang-ups of the Bible, of church history, and of the people in my own life.

There is a Frederick Buechner quote that I wrote in a journal years ago that has always stuck with me, that talks about the symbols of some of the religions of the world and how all of them point to hopelessness, yet the great paradox of the Christian faith is that the symbol we most use, a cross, was an instrument of death, it was the nail in the coffin for Christ...except that the resurrection gives us hope that the cross is not the final word on Jesus, nor is it the final word for you and for me. The glorious hope of the resurrection is that final word! Thanks be to God!