The Greatest Hope We Have

Some of you will remember my years of writing a column, "A Little Good News Today," for the West Plains Daily Quill's religion page and for posting on this blog regarding what could be called matters of the spirit. It's been a while since the focus here has been on such topics, but the time seems right to mention a few things about The Way that Jesus proclaimed.

"And without faith it is impossible to please God..." is from Hebrews 11:6. It is one of my favorite verses because of my belief that it should have a huge impact on our view of sin. Many people have a list of actions and attitudes which are considered to be immoral and are therefore sins. I'm not planning to argue about anyone's list of sins versus my list of sins, but I think we should be able to agree that at the center of the concept of sin is breaking God's laws or rebellion against God.

If we are concerned about pleasing God (and isn't that the primary job for those who claim to follow Jesus?), I believe our focus should be less on 'sinful' actions (especially the actions of others) and more about sinful attitudes. Our actions flow out of our attitudes, so attitudes are the source our troubles. That gets us back to the 'without faith' part. What does that mean?

Faith, like sin, is a big concept. Along with love and hope, faith forms the triangle which is the heart of the message of Jesus. Some would say that doubt is the opposite of faith, but I think that God understands, even expects, our questioning because Jesus himself expressed doubts. In his last days on earth, Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, experienced great anguish and uncertainty over his calling and his circumstances. In fact, one of his last recorded statements on the cross is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

What I believe scripture reveals to be the opposite of faith is fear. Fear has several forms, including worry, anxiety and expecting trouble with each new day. One of my favorite quotes (not from the Bible, from a movie) is, "A life lived in fear, is a life half-lived." For those who are not Christians, being fearful is understandable. For those who claim to be believers, living in fear is not how we please God.

Jesus doubted. But he did not fear. He did not worry. Overcoming fear and worry are central themes to becoming the people we are called to be, believers who will be a shining light to the rest of the world.

What did Jesus say about worry? Many things, but here's one, "And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?" (Matthew 6:30)

What about fear? "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6) And, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18)

Having occasional fears is part of our human condition. Being careful and watchful of immediate danger (like going inside during a lightning storm) is common sense which God also expects.

But when we wallow in fear; when we promote it and then claim to be advancing the views of Jesus; when we distort scripture to justify hatefulness; and when we're willing to bankrupt our country, morally and financially (and constitutionally, I'll add) because we have been goaded into fear by the greed and self-interests of the rich and powerful, then everything about that scenario is wrong. We are choosing fear over faith and for Christians, that's a sin. Scriputurally, there just isn't much other way to say it. Because the end result is a loss of hope and a loss of love, and if those things are gone, then all is lost. God has not abandoned us at that point. We have abandoned him.

I'm certainly not perfect in this regard (certainly not in any regard) and I know that many of you disagree with me on some issues. But I hope and pray that in the days and years ahead all of us can set aside our differences and focus not on the fear we're being fed through the media and other outside sources, but on the source of all good things, Jesus himself. As many of us celebrate his entrance into the world in the week ahead, it is my hope we will bask not in suspicion, dispair and dread but in the peace and goodwill the angels proclaimed at his birth.

Fear not. That is the greatest hope we have.