Jesus gives us hope
Living with hope is much better than living without it. I know, I’ve tried both. The sad thing is that many people are trying to live with a worldview where there isn’t any hope. Now, whether you like the word or not we all (even those of us who never think about it) live by a worldview. That is we have certain basic beliefs that we live by.
I don’t think many people would actually want to describe themselves as atheists, in fact the statistics suggest that most people believe in God, but the majority of people seem to live by an atheistic view of the world. Whilst they might say they believe in God they don’t believe that God has any part to play in their life.
Just recently I read a heated debate on a blog about the difference between a Christian funeral and a humanist funeral. The discussions nearly exclusively seemed to be focussed on the content of the services. Some argued that humanist funerals are too full of soppy sentiments and easy listening songs whilst others argued that Christian services are all the same and lack the personal touch.
To my mind there was something missing in the discussions and that was the Christian hope. Christians have a pretty unique idea of what life after death means. A life lived with God in a paradise created for us to live in. A place where we will meet people who have died previously and where pain and suffering are overcome by the love and forgiveness of God.
You won’t find this hope in a humanist funeral. Regardless of the songs sung or the words used it is the hope that Jesus offers that makes all the difference.
But what about life before death? Well Jesus was pretty keen on life at all times – not just after death. Jesus wants us to find love, joy and fulfillment in this life as well as in the life to come. So the Christian hope applies to this life as well as the next.
Jesus tells us not to despair because there is always hope. And this isn’t a patronising fluffy pink kind of hope, but a deep real kind of hope that is worth believing in. A hope based on God who tells us that whatever happens he will always love us. The kind of hope that a theif can find whilst nailed to a cross when Jesus says to him: “today you will be with me in paradise”.
I’ve got a few things left in mind for this life yet but in Jesus I have hope for today and for tomorrow.
