The past few days have brought with them several occasions for joy, for God's peace and for hope. Have I overflowed? In certain moments, yes, there has been that degree of hopefulness. But in other moments, my focus was distracted and my hope was diminished. Our continual hopefulness is dependent upon our continual focus on God's plan for us. Once our eyes are turned toward this world, and its deceit, hope seems to fly away, doesn't it?
A few days ago, my children's grandfather passed away. He was my father-in-law for eleven years, and even though that time frame of my life seems a long time ago, he was a big part of my years when I was transforming from a fairly naive 18-year old, to a 29-year old mother of two. He was a good man and he was a difficult man. He was completely opposite of my daddy, who was a calm and gentle man. He was a cowboy and he drank and he smoked and he cussed. And I know I wondered if there was any way this man could ever go to heaven.
But in the years that have passed, I have learned so much about life and people, about my own sinfulness, and about the abundant grace of God. And that the cause for hope is not in the high level of our behavior, but in the absolutely high and incomprehensible level of God's love. I was reminded of this hope on the day of my ex-father-in-law's funeral services, when I heard of his proclamation of faith at an early age, and also his affirmation of his faith to his minister in recent years.
And God's hope was again affirmed when I heard a minister on television talk about salvation with the analogy of all of mankind swimming toward shore, with not a one of us having the ability to make it to safety. So if you're going under water for the third time, does it matter if you're 50 yards from shore or 10 yards? If you're in 50 feet of water or 10 feet? It doesn't matter how far you've come toward safety, you will still perish. But the promise we have is that Jesus' sacrifice builds the bridge conveying us out of our drowning pit toward the shore of salvation.
God is the God of hope for all --- it doesn't matter who you are, what you have done or where you are right now. When He hears us call for His help, His hand is ready to reach down and save. I thank God that He IS the God of hope...that we all have hope of His eternal home where we have a place prepared for us. And the best thing is that the hope of that home has nothing to do with how good I am, but only in my trust of my Father who loves me, and who loves you, and who loves a crotchety old cowboy named Walt. I look forward to the day when I see him again, two redeemed sinners greeting each other on the streets of gold.
Keep the hope!
A few days ago, my children's grandfather passed away. He was my father-in-law for eleven years, and even though that time frame of my life seems a long time ago, he was a big part of my years when I was transforming from a fairly naive 18-year old, to a 29-year old mother of two. He was a good man and he was a difficult man. He was completely opposite of my daddy, who was a calm and gentle man. He was a cowboy and he drank and he smoked and he cussed. And I know I wondered if there was any way this man could ever go to heaven.
But in the years that have passed, I have learned so much about life and people, about my own sinfulness, and about the abundant grace of God. And that the cause for hope is not in the high level of our behavior, but in the absolutely high and incomprehensible level of God's love. I was reminded of this hope on the day of my ex-father-in-law's funeral services, when I heard of his proclamation of faith at an early age, and also his affirmation of his faith to his minister in recent years.
And God's hope was again affirmed when I heard a minister on television talk about salvation with the analogy of all of mankind swimming toward shore, with not a one of us having the ability to make it to safety. So if you're going under water for the third time, does it matter if you're 50 yards from shore or 10 yards? If you're in 50 feet of water or 10 feet? It doesn't matter how far you've come toward safety, you will still perish. But the promise we have is that Jesus' sacrifice builds the bridge conveying us out of our drowning pit toward the shore of salvation.
God is the God of hope for all --- it doesn't matter who you are, what you have done or where you are right now. When He hears us call for His help, His hand is ready to reach down and save. I thank God that He IS the God of hope...that we all have hope of His eternal home where we have a place prepared for us. And the best thing is that the hope of that home has nothing to do with how good I am, but only in my trust of my Father who loves me, and who loves you, and who loves a crotchety old cowboy named Walt. I look forward to the day when I see him again, two redeemed sinners greeting each other on the streets of gold.
Keep the hope!
1 comment:
I will keep the hope! When I look away from God is when I feel I am sinking in the relationships of this world. I saw you ex-father-in-law's obituary in the newspaper and thought of you and your children. We live long lives with many days - all through our time on earth God is always with us, even when we don't acknowledge him. Jesus died for our sins - God has promised us life everlasting. Each of us has a personal relationship with Him, not always seen or detected on the outside to others. But always seen by God.
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