Filed under: Thriving Not Just Surviving!
THRIVING NOT JUST SURVIVING!
A series of reflections on living the Christian Life in a Time of Cultural Upheaval (a Culture of Life under attack by a culture of death which erodes traditional beliefs and values).
4
In a time of trial by fire, there is need for hope. Some might say “We know the power of Love and we know that Faith leads to God and Heaven and Truth, but how does hope help us?” Hope is the forgotten theological virtue, the least glamorous of the three. Hope is the country cousin of the well known and much discussed other two; Faith and Love.
When the heart is heavy, the mind troubled, the will is wavering and even the senses are numbed, there is no reservoir from which to draw spiritual and moral sustenance for such a struggle except from Hope. There is natural hope residing within every human heart of course. But the theological virtue of Hope is supernatural – a gift of the Holy Spirit – for times of difficulty and challenge, whether routine or extraordinary.
“And he who sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new” (Rev 21:5).
Prior to this verse in Chapter 21 we are told about “a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away”. And that “the dwelling of God is with men…he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more…for the former things have passed away.” Here is described the reason for hope; eternal life with God.
But the one “who sat upon the throne” in Heaven, hung upon the cross on earth, and before that lay in a manger. He began making “all things new” from the moment of His conception. The Incarnation began this universal ‘construction project’ of making “all things new”. The Crucifixion and the Resurrection opened the gates to new life for humanity.
Pentecost sealed this ‘new arrangement’, this new spiritual configuration which we call the New Covenant. But now each one must “fight the good fight” (I Tim 6:12. II Tim 4:7-8) himself or herself, to claim the prize. As St. Paul once said: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14). Accepting the promises of Christ is activity not passivity, struggle rather than complacency.
St. Paul is a great model for us: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (II Tim 4:7-8).
We are talking about hope, “new” hope in the Presence of the Spirit, in the glory of the Resurrection. He makes “all things new” – even Hope! Hope is no longer a sentimental desiring, no longer wishful thinking, wistful glances… New Hope is associated with tongues of fire, running a spiritual race (alone), fighting a spiritual battle(side by side with one’s fellow Christians against the evil one), reaching out for a crown…
George A. Peate, July 18, 2008
1 Comment so far
Leave a comment
UNBORN WORD of the day 
This is a great thought, a wonderful truth, that even hope is made new. Yes, everything is purified, even hope. It is very different to have a great faith and a great hope but if the object of our faith, if the reason for our hope is not in objective truth then they are of little effect.
::thrive! O
Comment by Owen July 18, 2008 @ 9:22 am