Daily Worship

Our hope

Linda Pollock March 16, 2023 1 0
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Romans 5: 3-5 (NRSVA)

3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Alexander Pope wrote an essay entitled, ‘An essay on man’ and said, “Hope springs eternal!” In other words, ordinary people, including folks who claim no faith or religious affiliation, keep on going irrespective of the odds against them and even when those odds are heavily stacked against them!

But we are not hoping in good fortune or in our strength of character or anything else that the media tries to sell us. For as followers of Christ Jesus, our hope is in Him, His life, death, and resurrection.

The way He chose to live His life models for us how we are to live our lives. Pull in the people on the margins, feed hungry folks, subvert the abuse of power, defy the rules designed to maintain the Institution rather than establish His Kingdom…

Without hope why bother? As people who follow the Lord of Life, we can be assured that our hope is founded upon One Who is utterly radical in His understanding of Scripture, One Who is completely dedicated to loving us unconditionally, and, in the eyes of the world, One Who stupidly risked His all for us. Because of this and much more, our Hope springs eternal — truly.

Now, what are we going to do about that? Are we going to walk around with our faces tripping us, our spirits crushed under the pressures of our daily lives, or are we going to live as He lived, courageously, selflessly, hopefully?

Mother Julian of Norwich reminds us, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well…” why?? Because our hope is in the One Whose love never fails.

 

PRAYER:

 

Lord Jesus, let me glimpse You afresh this new day that I might live as You lived, serve as You served, and love as You loved. Amen.

Lent Disciplines

LENT FOCUS 3: PATHS

This week we are thinking about paths. A reflective activity you could try this week is getting a piece of paper and drawing an outline around each of your feet. Reflect on the past year of your life and the year ahead. In one foot outline write some of the places you’ve been with God in the past year and then on the the other foot you could write about where you are going to be with God in the year ahead.