by Greg Kennedy
I am on a search for some good hope. To be clear, I am not talking about a Polly Anna hope in a sudden change in human nature. I am talking about a living hope in God. I am yearning for hope because I see so little of it. Fear seems to be the lingua franca of our day. The election season always brings out messages of fear, but I see this crippling power also working in our churches, our leaders, and in me, and I don’t like what I see.
If I had to find a word to describe our society, it would be “afraid.” We want our sons and daughters to grow up to be critics not creators. It seems blame is the primary skill to hone if you want to be heard or get ahead. No wonder our leaders lack boldness and nerve. No wonder the Church acts as though it is captive to consumerism. No wonder hope is disdained among serious people.
All my heroes operated out of depth of hope in the living God. They were strong, strident, and insistent voices for the Kingdom. All of them courageously participated in God’s world-changing mission. Most of us are not world-changers, but we could be bold leaders in our families, churches, and communities. Living as people of hope makes the difference.
First, hope gives us the courage to find our identity in Christ. How many of us have painfully realized we have allowed our identity to be shaped by lesser gods? In Christ we are not broken, we are the new creation; we are not stuck, we are the redeemed; we are not the outsider, we are part of the family; we are not ordinary, we are the treasured people of God.
Second, hope gives us the audacity to believe God is alive and well. We can trust Him to keep His promises. Even in a culture of fear and shame, we can boldly follow Jesus. We can consider thoughts and ideas we would never entertain without Him.
It was Peter who reminded us we are “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Peter still asks us, two thousand years after the fact, are we experiencing living hope or killing fear? So this Thanksgiving give thanks for what is ours in Christ, give thanks for the living hope, and let that hope shine as we follow Jesus courageously.