July 31 , 2022

Taken from the book,’ Gentle Spirit.’

Hope

The hope many have for a good future and a good life often excludes God and places all hope in the world and in the ways of man. With a hope like this then it is certain that truly life and the future will never achieve the goodness that is possible only in God, a goodness that is full and complete. The way of man and the way of the world can only ever bring a future that is empty of true meaning and true life.

Without God hope becomes filled with self and with earthly desires rather than heavenly and eternal desires. A hope that is centered on what the world can give and what man can create is a hope that is bound to lead into disaster for this kind of hope is the kind that opens peaple and the world to evil. A hope like this is filled with pitfalls that are there to draw people away from God and into hopelessness. A hope like this leads along the path of despair for in the end the world cannot give what a person truly needs and all the creations of mankind cannot satisfy the soul.

True hope is a hope that seeks to live in the goodness of God not only in this life but in eternity. Any other hope than that is a false hope that will in the end lead to disappointment and misery. Many, sadly, are deceived or deceive themselves into believing that their hopes can be answered in the world alone. The only hopes that can be answered in the world alone are self centered hopes which are ones that so often seek the best only of material things and ignore the spiritual needs and the needs of true love.

True hope is a hope that not only seeks good for self but good for all mankind seeing all as deserving of a future that is full of true love and a fulfilled life in God. With this seeking of good for all a person opens their heart in a true acceptance of the equality of all people and sees all as brothers and sisters who should be given respect and should be helped to have all that is needed in life.

This is the hope God has for mankind that they love Him and in His love they love one another equally. It is in this hope that God sent His only Son, The Lord, Jesus Christ, to show all how they are meant to live, to offer them the grace they need to live this way and to offer them all they need in life. The Lord also came to bring hope to those who had none, to those who despair and to those who were lost in life. He called out to all “I am your hope for a full life on earth and an eternal life of love in heaven”.

The Lord, Jesus, also hoped that all people would listen to His words in Holy Scripture and come to live them in imitation of Him as they are supposed to. To live in imitation of The Lord, Jesus, people should be hope bringers just as The Lord is. To live as The Lord wants people to they should go out to all and lead all to the hope of a better life in Him. To live in imitation of The Lord, Jesus, people have to confront the despair that sin and evil bring with the hope that the love of God brings.

Every person on earth should be living a life of hope with the opportunity to have their good hopes fulfilled and all those in power, with influence and with wealth should be doing all they can to help the less well off have the opportunities they need and deserve to achieve this. Mankind’s true hopes can be found and brought to fruition in Jesus Christ, The Lord of hope, or can be lost and destroyed in self and in sin. God hopes mankind will make the right decision while evil hopes mankind will make the wrong decision. Each person needs to think carefully about which decision they will make and consider the cost of making the wrong one.

God bless,

Alan Ames