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Hope
Springs Eternal
The
English poet Alexander Pope wrote, “Hope springs
eternal in the human breast.” But where does man
turn when the situation seems hopeless?
The
director of a medical clinic told of a terminally ill
young man who came in for
his usual treatment. A new doctor who was on duty said
to him casually and cruelly, “You know,
don’t you, that you won’t live out the year?”
As
the young man left, he stopped by the director’s
desk and wept. “That man took away my hope,”
he blurted out.....
“I
guess he did,” replied the director. “Maybe
it’s time to find a NEW one.”
Commenting
on this incident, Lewis Smedes wrote, “Is there a
hope when hope is taken away? Is there hope when the
situation is hopeless? That question leads us to
Christian hope, for in the Bible, hope is no longer a
passion for the possible. It becomes a passion for the
promise.” *
About
a month before he died, the famous atheist Jean-Paul
Sartre declared that he so strongly resisted feelings
of despair that he would say to himself, “I know I
shall die in hope.” Then in profound sadness, he
would add, “But hope needs a foundation.” **
Only
the Christian hope the TRUE, ETERNAL hope has a
rock-solid foundation.
That foundation is the Word of God.
God’s Word reveals that IN OUR SIN, there
is
NO HOPE (see Ephesians 2:12).
But God’s Word also
reveals in IN CHRIST, there is hope - ETERNAL
HOPE!
In
Christ there is hope because Jesus died on the cross
to pay for our sins making our forgiveness available. We
access that HOPE by believing
in Him (Acts 16:30-31), repenting
of our sins (Acts 17:30-31), confessing
Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), being baptized
(immersed) for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38),
and then following Him faithfully (Revelation 2:10).
The
Apostle Peter reassured some suffering Christians when
he wrote: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has
begotten us again to a "living hope" through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and
undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in
heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).
The
truth is, we are ALL "terminal
cases." Is
there ANY hope? Yes,
and it is found in Christ!
Do YOU have that ETERNAL
HOPE?
David
A. Sargent, Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
*
Our Daily Bread,
December 19, 1996; ** Our
Daily Bread, April 17, 1995
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