WHEN YOU'RE LOW ON HOPE
I Corinthians 13:7
It [love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
At some point in our lives, we will all probably experience the "dark night of the soul." It is a time when it seems like our dreams have all been dashed to pieces, there are no options but suffering, when there's no way out, and when hope has abandoned us.
Despite the way the week had started with cheers and palm fronds, the disciples were worried and confused. Jesus had been talking for weeks now that he was going to be rejected and killed, and what did he mean about tearing down and rebuilding the temple? Now, as they sat down to what was suppose to be a celebratory feast, Jesus told them that they, they would betray, deny and desert him.
Things were looking more and more hopeless. Yet, love always hopes. Hope doesn't promise an instant solution, but rather the possibility of an eventual one.
In the past, Christ had given hope to a woman caught in an affair. She saw only anger, condemnation, and the stones that littered the ground around her which would soon be thrown at her. Hope came to her through Christ's mercy and forgiveness, and the opportunity to live a different life.
To Mary and Martha, who mourned the death of their brother Lazarus, there was only death, grief and finality. Jesus gave them the hope of the resurrection, victory over death, and the assurance of God's abiding presence as Jesus himself sat and wept with them.
As a thief hung on a cross next to Jesus, dying a torturous and humiliating death, expecting damnation in the life to come, Christ again offered hope, hope of a promise of eternal life with and through him.
So, to all who, in their own gardens of dark Gethsemane who cry out in worry and despair, "Is there any hope, "Jesus answers, "Yes!"
To all the people who feel trapped by the chains of their sins, Jesus says, "Yes!"
To all who grieve over what and who they have lost, Jesus assures them, "Yes!"
To all who have been robbed of their dreams and plans for the future, Jesus says, "Yes, yes, yes!"
God's love works in mysterious and unexpected ways that include Good Fridays and crosses to bear. But, always, always, they are followed by empty tombs and Easter mornings.
God's love is so powerful, that our suffering and troubles are small in comparison. His love can overpower a cross and death itself, and it is more than a match for anything life can throw at us.
In A Love Worth Giving, Max Lucado offers us this invitation.
"Receive God's hope, won't you? Receive it because you need it. Receive it, so you can share it."
It [love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
At some point in our lives, we will all probably experience the "dark night of the soul." It is a time when it seems like our dreams have all been dashed to pieces, there are no options but suffering, when there's no way out, and when hope has abandoned us.
Despite the way the week had started with cheers and palm fronds, the disciples were worried and confused. Jesus had been talking for weeks now that he was going to be rejected and killed, and what did he mean about tearing down and rebuilding the temple? Now, as they sat down to what was suppose to be a celebratory feast, Jesus told them that they, they would betray, deny and desert him.
Things were looking more and more hopeless. Yet, love always hopes. Hope doesn't promise an instant solution, but rather the possibility of an eventual one.
In the past, Christ had given hope to a woman caught in an affair. She saw only anger, condemnation, and the stones that littered the ground around her which would soon be thrown at her. Hope came to her through Christ's mercy and forgiveness, and the opportunity to live a different life.
To Mary and Martha, who mourned the death of their brother Lazarus, there was only death, grief and finality. Jesus gave them the hope of the resurrection, victory over death, and the assurance of God's abiding presence as Jesus himself sat and wept with them.
As a thief hung on a cross next to Jesus, dying a torturous and humiliating death, expecting damnation in the life to come, Christ again offered hope, hope of a promise of eternal life with and through him.
So, to all who, in their own gardens of dark Gethsemane who cry out in worry and despair, "Is there any hope, "Jesus answers, "Yes!"
To all the people who feel trapped by the chains of their sins, Jesus says, "Yes!"
To all who grieve over what and who they have lost, Jesus assures them, "Yes!"
To all who have been robbed of their dreams and plans for the future, Jesus says, "Yes, yes, yes!"
God's love works in mysterious and unexpected ways that include Good Fridays and crosses to bear. But, always, always, they are followed by empty tombs and Easter mornings.
God's love is so powerful, that our suffering and troubles are small in comparison. His love can overpower a cross and death itself, and it is more than a match for anything life can throw at us.
In A Love Worth Giving, Max Lucado offers us this invitation.
"Receive God's hope, won't you? Receive it because you need it. Receive it, so you can share it."
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