Over the last week, Meredith and I packed up Phoebe and the dog to head to North Carolina. We spent some time with family, celebrating the Christmas we never got to have in December. It was a great visit and we cherished the time we had while we were down there.
With that said, something just kept tugging at my soul. Typical of the state of our world, everyone wants to know what's going on. Go to my parent's home, there's the news. Go to my in-laws, there's the news. Go into a supermarket, there's the news. Turn on the radio, there's the news. Every single moment it seems like we're being bombarded with "bad", "pandemic", "riots", "police response", and every other negative message you can think of. After a while, it moves from a place of being "informed about world events" into a category of pure emotional exploitation. We gladly hand over our optimism, hope, and joy in exchange for sensationalized news stories and advertising.
When that happens, speaking just for myself, it can make my mind go to a dark place where hope seems distant. When I opened the Bible to put this devotion together, I came across this...
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this,[a] even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9)
These words were being written as Christians in the early church were facing oppression on a scale totally foreign to us. We complain about "freedom of speech" violations when someone removes a Facebook post or a Tweet, but these were people who had to invent new symbols to identify themselves because they couldn't even lay their dead to rest without persecution! In the midst of that negativity, Peter paints a beautiful image of hope in Christ; living a life for something grander than what the news media could hope to capture.
Negative news is like a drug that we all will decry and denounce, but then sink back into our recliners and consume on a daily basis. We've been conditioned to believe that it is irresponsible or immature to simply tune it out, so we go back to the high-definition pictures of our digital crack pipes to consume more. Christians have to stop thinking worldly and start thinking eternally; hope will not be found on the things of this earth. The souls of mankind will not be touched by a political campaign; they will be touched by friends, brothers and sisters, showing them Christ in their lives and telling them about the Good News or a risen savior more powerful than a political party, more powerful than a virus, more powerful than life and death themselves! To use an analogy, Jesus is like Moses who has led us out of our bondage to an old life and old world, but so many of us are too busy looking back at the "Egypt" we left to look forward to where Christ is taking us... a new promised land, eternal!
There will be plenty to talk about, debate about, and worry about over the next weeks, months, and years. Let us be resolved in our hope for a Christ that is more precious to us than gold and can stand any fire this earth may throw at us. The kingdoms of earth will one day fade away but the kingdom of heaven will always remain.
DEVOTIONAL PRAYER
A Prayer for Hope in a Hopeless World
Lord, give us vision to see what you have laid before us. Give us the energy to pursue the work that glorifies you and helps those around us to find hope where previously they saw no hope. We are all but dry bones without you. Give us love, compassion, and zeal in our calling so that we may accomplish tremendous things in your name and for your glory. In your son's holy name, Amen.
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