Hope: A 4-Letter Word
Tomorrow is the 24th anniversary of 9/11. In the two-plus decades since that horrific cowardly attack on America, society had continued to spiral out of control. Hatred has replaced the “can we all get along” mantra from Rodney King 33 years ago.
There are many opinions about why we’re moving in the wrong direction ranging from “It’s all Trump’s fault” to conspiracy theories about China, Russia, and aliens. None of which are even close to reality.
While I am writing this, Charlie Kirk, a strong conservative activist and a believer in Jesus Christ, was shot and killed while participating in a rally in Utah. What a timely segue into my next paragraph. Perhaps a wake-up call?
Over 2,000 years ago,
Jesus told His disciples, “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” (Matt. 24:12) Does anybody believe that lawlessness has decreased? Does anybody believe the evil genie can be stuffed back into the lamp?
The second law of thermodynamics is in play here: entropy, the measure of the disorder or randomness in a system, often associated with the lack of energy available to do work, evolving toward maximum disorder over time. In layman’s terms, everything moves from order to chaos, NEVER the other way around. Permit a simple example: A cup of coffee left on the table never heats itself; it always cools down. Everywhere, in schools, media, neighborhoods, etc., there are signs of entropy in action.
There is a solution.
But it’s one most people will not embrace. Many people have hope, but hope that’s not tied to truth is just wishful thinking. Everybody who buys a lottery ticket hopes to win. With odds of about 1 out of 250,000,000 winning, the likelihood of that type of hope materializing is pretty slim.
For hope to be more than a pie-in-the-sky dream, is has to be tied to something solid, proven, reliable. In our society, there is only one thing that satisfies the criteria: faith. But not just faith in anything. Just as hope needs truth to be valid, faith must also be tied to truth to be more than a good luck charm. So, it’s a choice: good luck charms and lottery-type odds or know the truth. Which one places hope on solid ground?
The one thing, or more precisely, the one person, the only person that merits our hope and faith because He’s never lied, is Jesus Christ.
What do we know about Jesus
that warrants our faith and hope? And where does that knowledge come from? The written word of God, the Bible, is the only source of pure truth on planet earth. Jesus is the Son of God who sacrificed His position in heaven with His Father to come to our world, live a sinless life, and be crucified in our place to pay for our sins. Why would He do that? The Bible tells us: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Our sin separated us from a holy God and paved our path directly to hell. Had it not been for God’s intervention through Jesus, our future is described as “outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth, in a flame that burns forever.” And here’s where it gets unbelievable. All this is available to us for free. Yet many will reject the offer and suffer that decision because they won’t do the one thing necessary to enjoy “peace that passes understanding.”
Pride is first on the list
of the things God hates (Prov. 6:16). To receive the gift of salvation and a reservation in heaven, we must humbly repent–turn from our sin–and admit we cannot be good enough, give enough money to church, or make any other attempt to erase our sin. We need to believe that Jesus did it all. ALL.
The world without Jesus is wending its way to eternal destruction. But as long as we have breath, it’s not too late to literally have a “come to Jesus” moment. Don’t wait. Charlie Kirk was only 31 years old and an evil shooter took his life. Psalm 139:16 says, “…and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” Do you know how many days you have left? If you want to know how to reach out to God, click here Steps to Salvation and you’ll see a step-by-step way to offer control of your life to Jesus from now until He calls you home. Thanks for reading.