On hope.

Why oh why are bad things allowed to happen to good people? In in scripture, we are assured that all things work together for the good for those who love God. Why then are we not protected from the sorrows and sufferings of this life? The answer simply, if you trust in God's promises, is that those sorrows and sufferings must work for our own good. And surely we all know of the assurances that such struggles make us stronger and wiser, and those assurances are true without doubt. But I also believe in a far simpler and even more beautiful reason than the promise of growth that we are allowed to hurt: Hope. For without strife, without pain, without the threat of despair, there can be no hope.

Life is full of it's own comings and goings: joys and sorrows, births and deaths, unions and schisms. It is in this delicate balance that we are able to flourish and grow without being overburdened. Good times keep us uplifted, while bad times keep us keen, alert, hopeful. For when the world seemed at it's darkest, yearning for a savior to come, Christ was born, the hope of the world. And after the dark hour of his death, he rose again, the hope of souls. And now from on high, he reigns still, the hope of all who'd come to him. With arms outstretched, waiting, longing, loving, he waits, wanting nothing more than to give you hope. Amen.

Vincent Christian