Hope
“Hope springs eternal.” That well worn statement implies a need to be hopeful, it implies that hope gives us renewed vigor. Scripture also states, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12)
Optimism with its fixation on positive thinking, futurism with its romantic hope in tomorrow, and egotism with its self-centered hopes all fall short of REAL HOPE. God has planted deep within all of us a longing and desire to be satisfied only by and through relationship with Him. Hope then is not a yearning for the unknown, but a longing for more of what we do know about Him. Hope is not a preoccupation with what may come, but a concern for increasing and enriching what has begun. (Phil 1:16)
The distortion of a sin nature that turns “hope” into something else. Here are some of the ways hope can be twisted:
HOPES TWISTED BECOME FALSE HOPES
Togetherness- becomes a wish for no differences, conflict or diversity
Acceptance- grows into a demand for no criticism, no negatives, and no confrontation
Harmony- emerges as an attempt to feel no anger, conflict or arousal
Love- turns into a need to control, manipulate, and dominate
Adequacy- is expressed as a belief that tender, sad, or painful feelings must be suppressed or denied
Success- can make one afraid of failure, frightened of facing any imperfections
So the necessary hopes, the TRUE HOPES of effective relationships- needs fulfilled through an intimate relationship with our maker that we in turn long for and fulfill in our closest human relationships, such as togetherness, acceptance, harmony, love, adequacy and success – can, through fear and failure, become the FALSE HOPES of homogenizing people and relationships. The FALSE HOPES gradually swallow up the TRUE HOPES. Many families live by this cluster of FALSE HOPES and pass them along from one generation to the next.
So, in many ways, the paradox of the Christian life presents itself again with the conclusion that FALSE HOPES of life must die before TRUE HOPE can be born in us. They must die because they can destroy not only personhood and relationships but community and the church, as well.
