A Reason to Hope
If you are a regular consumer of news, you may have seen a headline or read an article about the decline of hope in our country. According to a recent study by Archbridge Institute’s Human Flourishing Lab, only 56% of Americans are hopeful for the future of the United States. There are multiple reasons why hopefulness is in decline. There is a mental health crisis among young people. People are concerned about the instability surrounding the economy. Trust in institutions is at an alltime low. These factors and more have led to the hopelessness we are now witnessing.
Why would an institute known as the “Human Flourishing Lab” be conducting a study on hope? Because hope is essential to human flourishing as well as healthy communities. According to Dr. Alfred P. Stern, a professor at Harvard Medical School, “hope is linked with health, quality of life, self-esteem, and a sense of purpose.” Hope is an essential component of life. Without it, communities fall apart and our lives lack purpose and meaning. Without hope, depression and suicide rates increase. Institutes study hope because it is an indicator of where we are at as a nation and where we are heading.
Hope is also an important topic for Christians. Followers of Jesus are to be a hopeful people. 1 Peter 3:15 instructs us to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” We are to be known for our hope. People are supposed to look at our lives and see hope. What is fascinating about this passage is that the Christians Peter was writing to had few earthly reasons to be hopeful. They were living under a pagan emperor and they were being persecuted. The context of the passage where this verse is found is on suffering. These Christians were suffering and yet they had hope and this caused unbelievers to notice and ask them about it.
We face numerous challenges and obstacles in our culture but for believers in Christ, this should not impact our hope. Christian hope is not based on how the economy is doing or our trust in human institutions. Our hope does not rise or falter according to who is elected. The letter of 1 Peter begins with these words, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Pet. 1:3) We have hope because Jesus was raised from the dead. We have hope because we serve a living Savior.
We live in a fallen world but don’t ever allow the sin and evil in the world to cause you to lose hope. Don’t abandon hope just because the times might be tough. Hope in Christ is greater than the world and its problems. We have the gift of hope and the world needs us now to be ambassadors of hope. As the world grows darker, we are to let our lights shine brighter. We are to show people around us there is reason to hope.