In the Night, My Hope Lives on

In the night my hope lives on. The night seems to be all around us. There is so much darkness and hurt in our world. The world seems to be going crazy and there is absolutely nothing we can do about some of it. In the night our hope lives on.

Why should we hope? Why should we ever dare to hope that things will be better than they are now? This world is a mess, life is terrifying, the world is a scary place but in the night hope lives on. The darkness has to go away eventually. The pain of childbirth for Mary gave way to a glorious day of new birth for humanity. The pain of the cross for Christ gave way to the glorious morning of the resurrection. In the night our hope lives on.

This idea of redemption and grace, that is what we have to hold on to for our hope to stay strong. That looks different to each person, for the prodigal son it meant coming home to his father and for Peter it meant following Christ with his whole life. Where have I let hope die in my heart and how do I get that back? I think, deep down, that it literally means that we take a chance, get a little bit messy, and make some mistakes. We take a chance on Christ, this God who is so much bigger than we are, and we show love to the people whom the night has taken over.

Hope lives on, despite the night, despite the pain, and despite the hurt. Hope lives on despite the cross, despite the shame, and despite the dark. Hope lives on, not because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done through us.