Hope

"Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise." -C.S. Lewis, Hope (from The Joyful Christian).

Lewis goes on to explain that the offerings of this world include the greatest marriage, the most beautiful sites and scenery, a job that is the perfect fit for you - the "best possible [things]". Even the greatest of these would leave us wanting more, hoping for more. Lewis emphasizes the importance of allowing our minds to be "occupied with heaven". For if our thoughts are focused on the hope of the next world, the everlasting and perfect after life spent in the presence of the Lord, our temporary lives here on earth will be lived more fully.

What are my hopes? What are my sincere hopes for something more, things that are not yet seen? As I meditated on the works of Lewis, paired with John Piper and Scripture, I dwelled on this thought. Introspectively, I hope for the day God will "wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away [Rev 21:4]". I long for the day the Lord will make all things new [Rev 21:5], the day He will create in me a clean heart. I ultimately long for a wholeness that can only come from a relationship with Jesus Christ. While i accept my present conditions, I hope for the day I am free from heartbreak, from sorrow, from pain.

I hope for a steadfast and unshakeable union - the lifelong journey a single wedding day celebrates. I hope for a love that goes so far beyond the white wedding dress, the flowers and that diamond ring. I want a love that wouldn't mind being celebrated in burlap sacks in the middle of the street with nothing but a string tied around my finger. Okay, yes, that is slightly exaggerated, but the love-everlasting is the love i hope for. Not the day. And for now, my heart is at a place where only the Lord can satiate this desire. It is Him, it is Him tying the string around my finger, clothing me in white. For isn't a marriage just that - a hope in and tiny piece of the most unconditional, perfect and everlasting source of Love that exists?

I hope for our eyes to look to heaven, for our hearts to find rest there, for our souls to find a passion and a longing to live for the day Hope comes to earth. I hope for chains to be broken, for the Spirit of the Lord to bring freedom, and for us to truly crave the single source of Hope. To know and follow hard after it.

What do you HOPE for? What are the things not yet seen that you HOPE to know? To see? To experience?

"Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience - and with joy (Romans 8:24-25). Therefore, "rejoice in hope!" (Romans 12:12). This will prove to be your strength in the Lord. " -John Piper, [Taste and See, 256].

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. - Romans 12:12