Hopelessness Is Not the End
Good morning from Westminster, MD!
Yes, the world is broken, but there is hope. This is where we left off last time. This hope is where we start today.
While we live in a world full of hopelessness and brokenness the good news is that it can be and will different- the Shalom I mentioned last time is the end of the story. The Creator, God, chose from the moment brokenness entered the world to redeem and restore his creation. This started with God providing covering to his created, Adam and Eve, a very practical solution for a very tangible need.
This continued on until God offered the ultimate solution in the form of Jesus Christ, who died to redeem and restore creation to its original form. This incredible act of love included the redemption and restoration of spiritual and relational connection with the God who created us. The Creator’s redemption and restoration plan also extended and still extends to His physical creation.
You only have to look at Jesus’ life to know this is true. In addition to offering spiritual hope to his listeners, Jesus healed many people, provided food to the hungry, and offered safety for the endangered. Jesus did not see the practical and tangible as unimportant as some would suggest. Instead, he modeled a process of providing practical and tangible hope to the otherwise hopeless.
This model of hope is a picture of what we should do to break the hold of the same hopelessness. If Jesus, who rose from the dead and redeemed the world, thought it was a good plan, it makes sense to me.
The impact of taking this approach can be great. We will take a look at that next time.
– James Belt
In2theRiver 