We live in an age of nihilism where everything is coloured by the relativity of our beliefs and perspectives. Yet, deep down inside we crave for an absolute, which we can bank on always.
With the passage of time, when the pain of living has caught up with us and when the spectre of death claims more and more of the people whom we have known, loved and lived with, we begin to hope for a life that promises us an eternity of living. This hope is not the shallow kind but springs from within and is the kind of hope that endures.
Sometimes, we work for small goals, which though they may be good in themselves, do not work for our final good. Hope that endures teaches us to be patient under trials and to work towards reaching our mark in life. Sometimes, the end may not seem at all encouraging. Many we knew appeared unprepared for the end and the flame of hope seemed to have been extinguished in this earthly life.
Does this mean that we cannot hope that they have died and made their peace with God? Far from that, we learn to believe that helped on by prayers and bolstered by the prayers of others, those who were not up to the struggle in life, have at last found their home and peace in God.
True hope does not mean that we leave everything to God. We have to play our part. We learn not to pin our hopes on what can never supply our needs. We steer away from company and people who crush our confidence that could leave us in a limbo of faithlessness.
The Gospels talk about the house that was built on sand and fell down when the rains and storms set in and the house built on rock that survived the winds and the rains. The house built on sand is a symbol of all those who put their faith in the wrong place and in the wrong people. The house built on rock is a symbol of those who have true hope and place their ultimate trust in God rather than in human beings.
We all wear many hats in life. We feel fear, anxiety, resentment, greed, faithlessness and pessimism. Sometimes we feel hope, contentment and love. We can pass down these feelings to others and either perpetuate the influence of the negative in our lives and those of others or pass down feelings of hope, peace and joy and create an environment of trust for others to follow.
Many demands are made on our time and resources. Speed is the prerequisite for many tasks and jobs that we are required to do. We hope for results that are predicated on deadlines. We work like lightening, sometimes at the cost of excellence. We have to learn patience because patience creates results that endure.
We are now more than ever conscious that we live in one world, sharing common goals, hopes and anxieties. With the instant media, we are brought into relationship with each other and there is a bonding of all across continents as people belonging to one human race.
While there is much disappointment, there is also much to be happy about. We reach a stage in our lives when we begin to pin our hopes on God and not on social approval or disapproval. The God of Hope never lets us down. To those who have been His faithful servants, he promises an eternity of hope resting in Him, in whom we move and have our being.
Every sunrise, sunset, the changing of seasons, the tides of the sea and the history of Mother Earth are all lessons in hope. In them we see God's faithful love for us, His people. Keep on hoping then, through every circumstance, doubt and calamity.