On Hope

This blog originally published Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 6:00pm

In a recent blog, I was tagged by several people for what they saw as a lack of hope. So, I thought I would address the issue of hope.

There are two kind of people in the world: those that divide the world into two kinds of people and those that don’t. I am in the first bunch. I always seem to be dividing things into two categories.

For example, there are two kinds of hope… There is the hope that God provides. This is the hope of resurrection and new life. This type of hope is a gift to those that believe in Jesus Christ. This is a wonderful hope for those who believe.

The other kind of hope is the hope that God gives the world. This is the hope that comes from God’s Kingdom. It is a hope for all. And, it is this message of hope that is so very important, the hope that may lead some to believe.

The first hope comes with faith in God and Christ His Son. The second hope comes from community action by God’s people, the ones who have been changed by faith.

Now, it seems to me that the church has historically focused on the first type of hope. I for one am not a pie-in-the-sky, waitin-for-heaven type of Christian. I'm a man who believes that actions speak much louder than words. I believe that the Bible is quite clear in its message that God’s Kingdom is here and now. Jesus began it, the apostles spread it, we are called to continue it and someday, Jesus will return to complete it.

There must be some reason that God doesn't take us away from this world when we believe, and this is it - He wants us to bring hope. A little of God’s Kingdom travels with each and every believer who goes out and touches the world around them. It is this little bit of the Kingdom that brings some little light of hope in a dark world.

Christianity is rapidly growing everywhere in the world but in the United States and Europe. Here, it is declining. We have to ask, “Why?” These people need God just as much as the rest of the world. It doesn’t take much effort to see the spiritual darkness, moral bankruptcy , and emotional desperation around us. It all comes down to a lack of hope. This is the reason that the people of our culture self-medicate with entertainment, toys, ambition, and syncretic spirituality. They are looking for hope, but just don’t know where to find it.

Yet, you might say, “But there is a church in every neighborhood, so the lack of Christianity is not the problem.

Well, kudos on getting the first part right. We are swamped with churches.

But, I firmly believe that, though there are many churches, and many people in the churches; there is a terrible lack of Christians in churches. There are a lot of people sitting in churches who have missed the message of action.

The lack of hope in this world is due to a lack of Christian action. When believers move, amazing things happen.

God’s word spreads.

Hope grows.

I know several wonderful Christians, who, though life has not been easy for them, have taken God’s call to action seriously. Instead of focusing on themselves, they reach out to others. They make a difference. They spread hope.

I also know many others who call themselves Christian. Maybe they attend church this week and maybe they don’t. Maybe they donate a pittance to church or charity and maybe they don’t. These are the people who complain about the music in church instead of recognizing the worship is for God, not them. These are the ones who bounce churches, because they ‘aren’t being fed’ (more on that topic another time). These are the ones who rarely if ever do anything to bring God’s Kingdom here and now. There is much that could be written about these Christians, but fortunately, they are few.

The last kind of Christian is the real problem. This is by far the largest group. They are the rank and file pew-sitters. They don’t maliciously ignore God. There’s no ulterior motive behind their apathy. They just don’t have time for Him and His work. They are so polluted by the same busy-ness, the need for entertainment, the same ambitious drive for more stuff; that they have little or no positive effect on the world. They could bring God’s Kingdom, but they are just too busy. They never hear God’s call to turn their faith to action because they never turn down their iPod. They don’t kill hope, they just let it slowly die.

Where self-centeredness is high, hope is low.

Whether you like James’ epistle or look at it as Luther’s ‘right epistle of straw,’ the truth is that scripture calls us to put our faith in action. We are to be a light among men. We are to act justly and to love mercy. We are to care for widows and orphans. We are to do good deeds to bring praise to our Father in Heaven. We are to invest the talents He gives us. We are to spread hope. Hope.

Hope comes from us, from God’s people moving. The positive message here is that the few people who do act, accomplish some amazing things. They bring hope to lives by being a friend to the elderly, by adopting unwanted children, by helping a friend paint their house, by babysitting for a single mom, by giving to charity, by volunteering, by helping the homeless, by sharing from their larder with someone who is hungry…They bring Hope by doing.

There just aren’t enough of these people out there. We need more.

This is a call to action. This is a call to wake up.

If you are that Christian who is always too busy, this is for you. The simple message from God’s word is that He actually expects something from you. No, we can’t earn God’s grace, but that doesn’t mean He wants us to sit on our duffs, warming pews, but having no other effect on the world.

In case you missed the message, I am talking to you. As the song, 'Madly' says; "Let what we do in here, fill the street out there."

Let's get off our duffs, get our hands dirty, and get to work.

Bring the hope.