There is so much hatred in the world. This has always been the case, but it seems that technology, through TV and the internet, exposes the hatred in overwhelming quantities that individuals are not used to seeing. Watching the news for fifteen minutes can really bring you down. Part of the reason we always see sensational news stories is due to the fact that tragedy and shock keep our attention and increase ratings. There are many good things taking place every day that we never learn about simply because they don’t make juicy headlines. Nevertheless, tragedy and trouble are indeed part of our daily routine. Amidst all the bad news we hear each week, how can the Christian person remain hopeful?
Earlier this week I asked the apostle Peter to help me better understand biblical hope. Peter tells us not to despair because hope is closer than we realize. He tells us we have actually been born into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In Peter’s eyes there is definitely death and trouble in this world. But there is also resurrection. Christ’s resurrection is the source of all human hope amidst a dying world. Faith in Jesus Christ causes our hope to come alive. This faith he has given us is, according to Peter, “more precious than gold” and “tested by fire” through suffering and trials. But how does this faith in Christ change anything? What are we supposed to do with this “faith”? Peter’s answer is simple: “Be Holy.” After introducing the preciousness of the life of faith in Christ, he writes that we should be holy just as Christ who called us is holy. So the response to all the trouble and the suffering and the trials is “be holy”? These are difficult words. How does holiness accomplish anything?
Peter knew that the transformation God creates in the hearts of believers through the power of his Spirit was the hope of the world. I am hopeful today because I believe the power of the “Christ with us” life can transform you and me. If you are a Christian and you read this, realize your holiness is the hope of world. Holiness doesn’t mean being religious; it means acknowledging you can’t make life work on your own terms and accepting God’s merciful invitation for genuine relationship. He loves you despite everything you’ve done. He loves you, not with a nice puppy love, but with a love that is so holy and deep and wide that, eventually, it cannot help but compel you to change.
Earlier this week I asked the apostle Peter to help me better understand biblical hope. Peter tells us not to despair because hope is closer than we realize. He tells us we have actually been born into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In Peter’s eyes there is definitely death and trouble in this world. But there is also resurrection. Christ’s resurrection is the source of all human hope amidst a dying world. Faith in Jesus Christ causes our hope to come alive. This faith he has given us is, according to Peter, “more precious than gold” and “tested by fire” through suffering and trials. But how does this faith in Christ change anything? What are we supposed to do with this “faith”? Peter’s answer is simple: “Be Holy.” After introducing the preciousness of the life of faith in Christ, he writes that we should be holy just as Christ who called us is holy. So the response to all the trouble and the suffering and the trials is “be holy”? These are difficult words. How does holiness accomplish anything?
Peter knew that the transformation God creates in the hearts of believers through the power of his Spirit was the hope of the world. I am hopeful today because I believe the power of the “Christ with us” life can transform you and me. If you are a Christian and you read this, realize your holiness is the hope of world. Holiness doesn’t mean being religious; it means acknowledging you can’t make life work on your own terms and accepting God’s merciful invitation for genuine relationship. He loves you despite everything you’ve done. He loves you, not with a nice puppy love, but with a love that is so holy and deep and wide that, eventually, it cannot help but compel you to change.
In the comic books I read as a kid, the heroes were big and muscular, fast and smart, achieving amazing things. Terrific trouble could only be stopped by a terrific super hero. Because of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, the job description to become a hero or heroine is not like in my old DC comic books. You don’t have to be terrific or smart or muscular to stop terrific trouble. You just have to be humble enough to know you desperately need his help. Your desperate and daily reaching for him slowly transforms you into the little holy hero or heroine the world is literally dying for. Little holy heroes are little because their mistakes are huge, their love seems insignificant, and their lives seem mostly unimportant. They are holy because they reflect the love and service-filled life of Christ. They are heroes because Christ uses them, collectively, to shine the light of love and hopefulness into the darkness of the world.
Don’t expect the media to detect the little holy heroes of Christ. You will not see them on the covers of the magazines in the supermarket checkout line. They do small, weak, and undetectable little things like show kindness to people, pray in closets, weep over the seriousness of sin, and call people who are lonely. Little holy heroes consider others better than themselves, and they don’t believe they deserve anything. The collective actions of little heroes are a lot like the mustard seed Jesus mentioned in the gospel of Mark (4: 30-32):
“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
Matt
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