More on Hope

It's a bit ironic that about 10 days ago I wrote the previous post about hope. First, the movie I mentioned was just on TV tonight, and I heard the line that I slightly misquoted. Second, and here's where it gets almost surreal, I was asked by John Turner, a friend of mine and an author, to look over a couple of chapters of his new book before it goes to the publisher in its final form. The two chapters I was to look at were about faith and hope.

It was while reading the latter chapter that I finally understood why I am led to this topic, and why it keeps coming up in so much of my daily business. I am to increase my measure of hope to do whatever it is that I must do in the coming days, weeks, months, and years of my life. I'm not one who thinks that God goes about talking directly to me about his will for me, but I know that he is not one to stand and let me miss an opportunity to live this life more abundantly. It is not only in his power to reveal his will to me, but I think that it is in my best interest and his greatest desire to make known to me what he wants for me.

He told Abram that he would be the father of nations. That doesn't mean that Abraham, as he was later called, would ever see those nations. In fact, Abraham only saw two sons born to himself. He knew what it meant to hope in light of a promise made by God. He knew that what God promised, he would deliver. He knew that God would give him land when he left his home. He knew at the alter, about to sacrifice the very child God had given him, that God would make the promise good. He knew. Many people think that these are examples of his faith, and I will not deny it. But, they are also examples of hope. Hope empowers faith. Hope is the unseen of which faith becomes the evidence and substance. Hope is why our works show our faith. Without it, faith has no reason. Hope is what faith's works work toward.

John Turner's soon-to-be-released book on parenting says all of these things more articulately and more completely than I do here. And, since he seems to be my only reader, I'm not sure how to foot note the above paragraph which was inspired by his as yet unpublished work. Thanks John.