In this life we get to choose: passion or apathy. To hope or to not. To fight or to sleep. To thrive or survive. Choosing hope and passion and fight is dangerous but it’s the only chance of awakening the fire within us. The only chance at the abundance and joy we are promised. Am I gonna risk my heart or see the world as a lost cause? Will I sit back and criticize this culture or dig in and roll up my sleeves?
Last year in Earth Science we had to write a paper about whether or not we thought there was hope for sustainability in the world. I wrote a pretty convincing paper about how because of population, pollution, poverty, etc, there was no hope for the world. While all of these things were true, I was choosing the easy way out. I was choosing to sit back and pick apart the flaws of this world instead of choosing hope. It’s easy to get caught up in the overwhelming statistics, but if we just fix our eyes a little bit higher, the Lord is inviting us deeper and deeper into His view on things. His heart for the world is breathtaking. Often times I think that we miss His heart in our own rush to achieve perfection. Along with the condition of the world I believe He also has a vision for how we treat each other….
In giving others the benefit of the doubt, we can also expect that from them. But when we pick apart the flaws of others, we can also expect that they will do the same. It’s like the kindergarten mantra “do unto others as you wish that they’ll do to you.” I see the world as a project to reform. I desire to challenge and fix things. BUT I’ve discovered that grace is the key. It’s the lense through which I will thrive. It’s how I can get to the field of freedom and throw my arms up. Understanding the hopeless condition of the world, my helplessness because of sin, and knowing that deep within is the spirit of life and an all forgiving and patient graceful answer, waiting. As I peel back the layers, as I listen truthfully, as His love seeps in the cracks and scrubs off the layers of mildew and mold, I am made new. The world inhales hope.
Seeing the best in things is something I deeply struggle with. In this season I’ve been getting the sweetest tastes of passion and hope for the world. I feel so alive and free in those moments but they are fleeting. Passion simply cannot be manufactured. I’m still figuring out what it looks like to sustain a life of hope and freedom and grace and passion and I sure am thankful that we never stop growing and learning. Further in and further up we go.
“What does freedom and passion look like when you’re worn down and tired and a little hopeless?” I asked.
“It looks like me,” He answered.
Daring to hope is frightening. There are so many things that could go wrong. But God promises to be faithful to those who trust in Him. Sounds like a pretty solid guarantee to me, something worth hoping in.
