Hope

Remember that Christmas of 1914 during the first World War when British and German soldiers laid down their arms?  If you’re not quite old enough to recall, it’s well documented on-line.  A few months after the war started, during the week before Christmas, soldiers from both sides stopped shooting each other and came together on the battlefield as brothers celebrating Christmas.  For days they swapped prisoners, buried their dead, exchanged gifts, sang carols together, took pictures and played improvised games.  A shining example of what Jesus Christ can do, even in the midst of war.  Why hasn’t it happened since.  Has Christian brotherhood among men been lost?

Why do many of us often shrug off human misery, murder and foreign wars as just another worldly thing?  It seems that as prosperity increases, the fellowship of Christian life decreases.  Many people may be too busy with life to really care about others.  How can Christian knowledge and leadership keep up in a fractured world where the decline of society appears to follow the decline of the Church.

As Sunday schools become less populated, many children grow up without knowing Jesus – they don’t know Godly love and some may not know love of any kind.  Many of our youth don’t know what prayer is, why to pray, who to pray to or to be thankful for what they have – gratitude is often just a word.  We have many people raised in a society that seeks its own interests.  Get the education, get the job, get what you want.  Some often wonder what the meaning of life is, what’s the point, why am I here?  

God’s Word in the Old Testament will help our future; both Deuteronomy 6:6-7 and Isaiah 54:13 show us the way.  Jesus also spoke of this in Matthew 19:14 when He told His disciples to “Let the little children come to Me.”

We’ve been preoccupied over the last century and some: first with movies, then radio descended upon us, TV appeared, computers and cell phones arrived along with the internet and social media.  People are busy, often with too much information and too much to do.  For many folks, Jesus and His message have gotten lost amongst the world’s preoccupations.  This could be a good time to ruminate on Hebrews 10:23-25 and consider how we can make some room in our daily lives to have compassion for one another.

In our present world people need hope.  Hope is in God, hope is in Jesus Christ, hope is in listening to God’s Spirit.  Hope is where peace is born.  Plant seeds, let us show folks Christian caring at a personal level.

But how can God’s people share Christ with others in ways that folks will understand and want to learn more?

Prayer and human creativity often produce wonderful results.  Maybe we could start right at the beginning; do any churches operate a subsidized day-care, one that can accommodate shift workers?  Young children will learn much from a Christian environment.

We all have knowledge and life observations that others may not, please find leaders who will listen and share what you think about reaching people who need our hope.