Fourth (and final) hill to die on (Part 1)

Last month, I began a blog series on subjects that I would be willing to die for, or as I’ve called them ‘hills to die on.’  There are things not only worth living for, but also to die for, if need be.  In November, I presented three; today I’m giving the first part of the fourth hill.  Incidentally, there are more subject matters than just these four, but I’ve decided to wrap up this particular collection of blogs by speaking about an incredibly vital component to life.

The fourth hill that I would be willing to give my life is this: there is hope in an increasingly hopeless world.  The older I get, the more I see how profoundly true this is.  We are desperate to have hope, and if we don’t possess it, we become despondent and weary of life itself.  The Swiss theologian Emil Brunner (1889-1966) put it this way: “What oxygen is to the lungs such is hope to the meaning of life.”  Jürgen Moltmann added, “Totally without hope one cannot live.  To live without hope is to cease to live.” 

There is a classic episode of the TV show “Lois and Clark” that illustrates this well.  In a Christmas episode from the 4th season of the show, a being from another dimension puts Earth in a time loop.  After several hours, time returns to noon.  Every time it does, the hope in humanity diminishes.  The outlook of humanity gets increasingly angry, depressed, and suicidal.  But the hope in Superman’s heart releases Lois from the time loop, and together the two are able to restore hope to humanity.  It’s a memorable episode that demonstrates not only the power of hope, but how awful it is when one does not have it.

This leads to an obvious question: where, then, is hope found?  I googled that very question, to see some examples of where we might be tempted to look for this essential aspect to life.  I came across an article that grabbed my attention where the author speaks with great candor and insight; he writes:

“All too often my hope is connected to my own personal desires.  My hope is inextricably connected to…me.  My power. My position. My influence. My ability to control and manage my life.  Other times it’s connected to my prosperity.  My stuff. My money. My savings. My retirement.  When that fails, I look to find hope in pleasure.  My pursuit experiences that brings me joy.  I chase after leisure, food, sport, relaxation, or experiences to fill my heart.”

[He continues,] “What has been so revealing about the pandemic is that it reminds us that we are ultimately powerless, our so called prosperity is not as reliable as we think, and what at one time brought us pleasure is limited, hampered, or completely gone.  Mercifully, more than one biblical author suggests our hope is not found in the places we often look.  Hope is not found in our circumstances, but in a person.” (From https://christpoint.com/where-is-your-hope-found/)

He goes on to quote 1 Peter 1:13; “Set your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  And then he cites 1 Peter 1:20-21, which reads, “He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”  Amen belongs here!  Hope is found in Jesus, Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23).

We used to sing a song in church with this line: “I have a hope that will never pass away…my hope has a name.  Prince of Peace and the Lord of love, Jesus Christ the Son of God, King of hope He will always be, His great name holds my destiny.”  The old hymn puts it this way: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness…On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.”  I can practically hear the cynic protesting right now.  They want to question why I would make such an assertion.  My response to this is what I want to tackle next time.  So stay tuned.

Kevin