HOPE--The heartbeat of the Christian faith

In our modern world, it seems as if negativity, apathy, and being cynical have become the norm. Unfortunately, those thoughts and emotions have also entered into our churches. I must confess that I, too, have found myself thinking negatively or being cynical about something. However, I firmly believe that this is NOT the type of people God created us to be.

If nothing else, the Bible is a story of hope. It is a story of life in the midst of death--of healing in the midst of brokenness--of peace in the midst of chaos. As we study the people that God used in the Bible, we find that their world and their lives were just as harsh and cruel as ours--and I might say they were even worse--YET they chose hope. They chose to trust that the God they served was bigger and more powerful than the world around them. They believed that God would use the bad to bring about good. 

Paul was a New Testament leader of the church who was stoned, beaten, bitten by a snake, shipwrecked three times, and was imprisoned multiple times--but after all of this Paul says that he and his fellow believers were STILL rejoicing (2 Cor. 6 & 11).

Unfortunately, the modern church does not respond to our world with nearly as much hope and joy. The church gets worked up and angry over political matters; we try to create man-made ways of dealing with social problems and when something we don't like happens we are critical and negative.

There is no reason for a true child of God to criticize and make personal attacks against their political leaders. There is no reason for a child of God to feel hopeless and cynical about life--have we forgotten that the power that raised Christ from the dead is dwelling in every believer? (Romans 8:11)

How much change could we bring to our community, our churches, and our world if we as believers chose to trust in the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ? The people around us are bombarded with negativity from the news, from their jobs, and from their own thoughts--BUT we are called to be the voice of HOPE in the world. IF WE CAN DO THAT--it would be the biggest form of evangelism we've seen. SO if you are a believer in Christ--make the choice to become a positive, optimistic believer who can see the good in every situation and in every person. Make the choice to choose hope--because this world is starving for it!