Hope

Hope— it’s a word that I’ve come in contact with quite a bit lately.  I have a close friend who has dedicated her entire blog to the search for hope (http://sunflowersquest.blogspot.com).  Many of my friends and the people I encounter on a daily basis are also seeking this thing called hope— trying to define it and desiring to find it.

Just last week, my pastor posed an interesting question.  “If you could define Christianity in a word, what word would you use?”  Immediately, I had my answer; “hope,” I said.  Another young lady present that evening agreed with me.  We wondered how people who do not have a relationship with Christ can go through their lives separated from Him.  To us, His love, hope, and peace are so real to us that we can’t imagine going through life without Him.

That’s when the pastor took the question a bit further.  “Is this hope a coping mechanism— something you use to get through life, knowing He’s there, or is it a foundation— sustainable and a guiding principle?”  I replied that my faith and hope in Christ mean everything to me; I couldn’t imagine my life without Him walking beside me.  Hope is not my coping mechanism; it’s the confidence I have in facing the future, knowing He’s in control and that He will provide for my needs. 

I think of those who are struggling to find hope for tomorrow, lost in a sea of despair and emptiness.  I can plant the seed of hope— a life in Christ— within them, but I don’t have any control over whether or not they will accept this free gift of grace and hope.  I can lead them to the truth, but then the choice is there’s alone.  But if I can at least plant a small mustard seed of faith and hope, I consider it monumental on so many levels. 

It makes me think of a song I wrote this past summer called “I Believe.”  I have yet to record it professionally, but when given the chance to perform it, I am gripped with the statement of faith contained in its lines.  If you want to know how I would put my faith in Christ into words, this might be a good place to start.  Here is the chorus from “I Believe” as I close:

    It’s a hope; it’s a peace.

It’s a joy that overwhelms me

And love that will not cease.

He sustains all I need.

It’s a faith that moves mountains

With the smallest mustard seed.

So I believe.  I believe.