Hope

One of my favorite words. Hope. It is defined as "to believe, desire or trust". While hoping for things is wonderful, I've realized that I have no hope without Jesus Christ. He literally died for me. For us. To ensure that we would never have to be separated from God by sin. While we sin every single day of our lives, the hope that I have in Jesus is that by repenting and asking for forgiveness my sins are forgiven. I realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And I also realize that I have quite a problem keeping mine to myself. What I don't understand is how one can give up on the hope of eternal life in Heaven with God by turning their back on Him. The Lord never promised that life wouldn't be hard or that we would not face trials. In fact, He does the exact opposite. He basically TELLS us that we WILL face troubles, but that we can make it through anything as long as we believe and trust in Him. As long as we put our hope in Him. I couldn't imagine where my life would be without Christ. I would have absolutely no hope. I was raised in church. I always knew that I would give my life to God, but it was a question of when. I didn't want to give my heart to God just because all of my friends were doing it. I wanted it to be the right time for me. I needed to FEEL him moving in my life. It happened when I was 11. We were learning about Revelation (scary stuff) and I felt it. It was like a lightbulb went on in my head and I could not wait to learn more about being a Christian. I was taught that being a Christian meant living a Christian life. Learning everything you could about God and growing in your faith. Having a personal relationship with Him and showing the world His love. Now, having a relationship with God is just like having any other relationship. You have to put in time and effort. It's not always easy, but nothing that is worth anything in life is easy. One thing I knew from the beginning is that God loves us. He wants the best for us. By obeying Him and turning toward God we give Him our all. He rewards us here and eternally in Heaven. I'm not saying that I haven't had my ups and downs in my faith. I have. But I always know that I have hope in Jesus. I have had my times when I have been very angry with situations that God has presented to me. Was I angry with God? I don't know. I think I was more angry with what I was going through. For example, when my grandparents died (all 3 of them) I was hurting. I was angry that they were taken away from me. What I realize now is that they were suffering. They were called home to be with their Savior and are in a better place. It gives me peace to imagine them dancing with Jesus :) Do I miss them? Of course, every single day. There is not a day that goes by that I don't feel some sort of pain from their absence. My senior volleyball season in college was the first that I had played that my Papaw wasn't there. He died a year ago and it still hurts. I tried to call him after a game one night and someone else answered the phone. It was then that I relived all of the pain and emotions that I had felt when I first found out that he had passed. It was heartbreaking. But I turned to God and got through it. Without my hope and faith in Jesus I wouldn't be the person that I am today. I believe that God punishes the wicked, but does not turn away from those who seek him. He is a merciful and loving God. But also to be feared. I think it makes Him sad when His children turn away from Him and turn toward sin. I was also always taught to "hate the sin not the sinner". I may not agree with the choices people make, but it is not my place to condemn. This is where people start to go into different tangents. For instance, the Westboro Baptist Church "congregation". I use quotations on that last word because they are not actually a church. It is a few family members and their friends. They do not belong to the actual church. Nor do they preach or testify about a loving God. The God they believe in is full of vengeance and hate. They vile things they say break my heart. I recently came across Margie Phelps' Twitter page. I was almost in tears reading the things she believes. We studied the multiple course cases brought against this group in my Communication Law and Ethics class and I knew a little about them but I didn't know the extent that they took things. They show up at funerals, weddings, concerts and other gatherings that they don't agree with and picket and protest with vile, hateful things. One sign read, "soldiers die God laughs" and she also made light of the recent tornado that wreaked havoc in St. Louis. Another posting that upset me was her post about the 18 month old baby that was recently killed in an Arkansas tornado. She basically said that it was a good thing the baby died and that God was punishing for our sins. I want everyone out there to know this....these people are not what Christians are like! They are radicals to the nth degree and give the rest of us a bad name. The God I serve is full of love and forgiveness if you as Him for it. While I have no doubt in my mind that God will punish those who deserve it, I also believe that He rewards those who deserve it. Please, don't lump all of us together.
I want to end this on a positive note. I have recently started working with the 2-5 year old Sunday School class at my church. They are rather rambunctious most of the time, but they are so eager to learn about Jesus and it warms my heart. If only everyone had that fire for God all the time.