Hold on to Hope

The recent political situations both sides of the Atlantic have exposed deep divisions in our societies – even among those in the faith community.  Many are questioning what hope we have and what, as Christians, our response should be.

Carrying Hope

The bible points to a future time of restoration when when “[God] will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness“ (Ps 96:13).  It paints a glorious picture of the kind of transformed society we can expect when, in the words of Tom Wright, “God is running the show!”

Until then, Jesus instruction was to pray for Heaven to come to Earth, and to live as if it were already a reality.  As his followers, we carry Hope into every situation and conversation that we have – trusting the Holy Spirit to work through us to further his Kingdom.

Choosing Love over Fear

The last few weeks have been particularly difficult for our US brothers and sisters as they have come to terms with the President’s immigration ban.  In a recent letter, Phil Strout (National Director, Vineyard USA) highlighted three ways congregations might respond to the current situation:

1. Acting with empathy and compassion
2. Choosing love over fear
3. Loving all people

In the UK we are still coming to terms with the impact of the Brexit vote on our society. I know mature and faithful believers who, having prayerfully and thoughtfully considered the issues, landed on very different sides of this debate.  Some are still finding it hard to come to terms with the result and find the current news agenda difficult.

It is not my place to publicly take a political line on this issue, and as a church we have not expressed a particular view on the vote, but I do want to encourage all of us, however we may have voted, to choose three particular actions in the current climate;

Pray

As I reflect on the news agenda, I find I need to pray more.  The bible encourages all of us to pray for those in authority, so regardless of our own opinions or feelings we can pray for our nation, and pray for our government.  Although I may not agree with everything he thinks or does, I have made sure that my MP knows I am praying for him regularly and supporting him personally.

Be kind 

We are called to exercise love, humility and respect in our dealings with everyone, and especially with those who may hold a different opinion to us. Sometimes this may require extra grace, which we can readily receive from Jesus – the ultimate source of love and forgiveness (Eph 4:32).  Expressing strong opinions lovingly and sensitively is a mark of real maturity, and, as an aside, in my experience, it rarely works well on social media!

Put our trust in God

Lastly, we can make a deliberate choice to put our faith in God, despite what we may be currently feeling or experiencing. A close friend of mine once prayed ‘Lord, stamp my eyes with eternity’, and I often find myself praying the same thing – that I might view my current circumstances through the lens of God’s kingdom, heavenly perspective, and live according to that long term, ultimate reality.

In summary: Hold onto hope

The words of Hebrews 10:23-25 are encouraging at any time, but feel particularly apt right now, and I would encourage all of us to mediate on, and take them to heart.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.