Halfway through his years of imprisonment on Robben Island, Nelson Mandela was allowed a visitor. His daughter came, bringing her new born baby with her. Seeing them gave Mandela hope again and the will to live.
Hope is such a powerful force. It is therefore, so deeply distressing to see a person come to a point in his or her life where they lose all hope.
How significant then that the Christian gospel is called the gospel of hope. To steady the persecute
d Christian church of the first century and all subsequent generations, the apostle Peter wrote these words: "God has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead… An inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade… kept in heaven for you."
This hope is not something vague or generic that somehow it will all be okay one day. The biblical understanding of hope is that it is reality… not yet experienced.
But, hope is not just for the afterlife. The message Jesus came to bring is that for everyone struggling with guilt, fears, loneliness and the emptiness of the world's ways, there is hope!
Listen to his words: "Come to me all who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
So, when all seems lost, when there is no one to turn to and the situation is hopeless, there is, in fact, hope. Hope in the power and the love of God.
But we have to ask him for help and be willing for him to bring his solution to our need.
This starts with experiencing his forgiveness. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
The full article contains 313 words and appears in Suffolk Free Press newspaper.
