“He is hopeless”
When I heard those three words, that’s when my heart beat went into hyper drive. The word hopeless was in regard to a dying, elderly man, who was refusing to acknowledge the forgiveness, the redemption, the hope that Christ provides.
Within minutes I was motioning for the mic during the sharing of prayer requests, at a Sunday morning worship service.
What followed was a shaky-voiced monologue about Christ being our hope, and that we have hope for those we love, who are without Christ, until their final Earthly breath.
My only thought as I sat back down was, “God, why didn’t you just smite me down right then and there?” (I love the word smite).
Sometimes my zeal is problematic, as I just can’t seem to stop before I have stuttered my way through a sharing time.
All that stuttering and bumbling and red-faced humiliation aside, the message, that I poorly communicated, is truer than true.
Romans 8 speaks loudly of hope:
“For in this hope we were saved.”
The hope it is speaking of is the hope that is available (to all) through the blood sacrifice of the son of God. This is a hope for our lives here on planet Earth, as well as hope after we leave this place of “bondage and decay” for an eternity of “freedom and glory”after our current bodies have died their final death.
The dying man … that ‘hopeless’ man …
We might be baffled at why this man would not accept the free gift of salvation for sins and redemption for his life … really, it seems a ‘no brainer’ to those of us who have made accepted such a gift. Maybe this man is not ready to give up control, or maybe (as I think is often the heart of the matter) this man does not feel forgivable. Maybe he has memories of his life that he cannot imagine ever being forgiven, and certainly not forgotten … because he cannot forget …
Often, we humans act as the judge and jury of our sins. Deciding our eternity, our hope, based on the degree of sin in our lives. In the words of hymn writer Fanny Crosby:
“To God be the glory, great things He hathdone;
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life, an atonement for sin,
And opened the lifegate, that all may go in.
O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer, the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.”
There could be no greater hope, than the hope in the promise of God. And it is available to all, as long as we still have breath.
“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.”
Psalm 39:7
itsawonderfilledlife 