Hope

Power of Hope


It was recently announced that President Obama was this year’s recipient of the Noble Peace Prize. While this is quite an accomplishment, it was a surprise to many, including it seems to the President itself. As an Associated Press article that was written prior to the announcement stated, “U.S. President Barack Obama is thought to have been nominated but it’s unclear on what grounds.” (H/T John Miller). Upon the prize being awarded, many pundits speculated that it was bestowed mostly for the hope of what President Obama would achieve, rather than his actual accomplishments. (A prime reason for this speculation was that the nomination period for the Noble Peace Prize closed February 1, 2009 – only eleven days after President Obama had been in office.)

Now regardless of one’s opinion as to the worthiness of this selection, it’s easy to understand the motivation that hope can provide. Read Facebook statuses for a day and you’ll see this manifest itself many times over. People hope for a good day, a good job, and a good life. People express hope for a thousand things that they want that are seemingly possible to achieve. People want to believe in something greater than themselves and believe that their future will be bright. We want things to be different than they are and hope is the manifestation of this desire.

The rarely acknowledged, but astonishingly wonderful truth for Christians is that we have the greatest propellant for hope known to man. After all, our hope is not in a prize, or even in Earthly standards of determination, but in hope of eternity. We live with the confidence that when everything in this world returns to dust, we will be at our eternal home where there will be no need for a Nobel Peace Prize for the Prince of Peace will reign.

Let us not grow weary in hanging on to this hope. Better yet, let us make sure that we share in with others. It’s only through doing so that we can be assured that their hope will also be rooted in eternity…and that they will know truly noble peace (Romans 15:13).

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Growth

A Road Often Travelled


As is common in Southern California, I commute to work. As is uncommon in Southern California, my drive goes against traffic, which means, that although my car accumulates mileage much faster than cars across the rest of the nation, my drive is much more pleasant than most of other commuters. What this also means, is that it is very easy to relax on my way to work. In doing so, there are times that my attention to my surroundings is lacking. More than once I’ve been driving along, and I look around, surprised at where the journey has already taken me. (Before you get concerned, I do pay attention to the cars and other objects in proximity to me; I just don’t always pay attention to the landscape.) Less frequently, there have also been times when I’ve noticed my surroundings and asked myself “wait, am I on the right road?” It seems to be a place that I’ve never been before even though its part of my regular commute. A few seconds later, I’ll realize this and wonder how I could have gotten so confused to begin with.

The cause of all this uncertainty is that when I’m on a familiar path, my attention tends to wander. I think I know where I’m going so I don’t have acknowledge the signs and the signals as I must when it’s a place I’ve never been before. I relax in my commitment to awareness and as a result I find myself asking, “Wait, where am I?”

As a long-time Christian, this also happens in my walk with God. When I get comfortable, when I get complacent, I stop paying attention to the signs and the signals along the way. My commitment to diligent watching fades and I get to a place where I ask “How did I get here?” and “Wait, where am I?” I think I’m on the right road and hit cruise, only to have my attention called to an unfamiliar sight and I must question whether I am in fact, walking the intended path. Thinking I’ve been down the road before, I neglect the practices that got me safely there to begin with.

This is no good thing. Just like driving is a “privilege not a right” a close walk with God is not a guarantee, even for believers. We must continuously do those things that make us aware of how God is leading. Even on familiar paths, we must pay attention to His directions. Otherwise, we may find ourselves in a place where we look around, surprised, and ask “Are we on the right path?” and regret the answer.

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