Many moons ago I heard a lecture by Hal Lindsey, author of The Late Great Planet Earth (and numerous other great books). He said, “Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air…but only for one second without hope.” Being young and full of myself, I paid little attention to what he said at the time, but the older I become, the more I realize just how true his statement was. That’s exactly what happened to a young man I spoke to this week.
Sitting across a table, a young man of 30 (I’ll call him Bobby) was telling me how blessed he was. He had just asked his girlfriend to marry him, showed me a picture of the ring, and grinning from ear-to-ear. He shared how his life had changed. Living in public housing, no father at home, his mother turned to drugs. Bobby was left to fend for himself on the streets, then got involved in gang activity. The path for Bobby was definite — out of school and straight to prison, then God intervened. His maternal grandmother moved Bobby in with her, provided stability and direction, and started taking him to church. One weekend at a youth revival, he met Jesus for the first time and his life has never been the same. Some say Bobby “glows.”
Hope is a fragile commodity. Quite often life doesn’t turn out the way we hoped it would. When disappointed, our optimism is replaced by feelings of discouragement and hopelessness. Before long we run the risk of becoming cynics who believe that there is nothing in which we can confidently hope.
This was the world when Jesus was born and laid in that manger in Bethlehem. The attitude of the Israelites was anything but hope. They were oppressed by the Roman Empire and looking for the deliverer who had been promised to them centuries before. They were discouraged and cynical and hopeless.
Jesus came to give us something better than the disappointments of life on planet earth. When by faith we embrace Him and all that He promised, we can have hope that is more than mere finger-crossing and wishful thinking.
Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
