Hope Does Not Disappoint

"None are completely wretched but those who are without hope."
~ William Hazlitt

Hope Does Not Disappoint

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
~ Proverbs 13:12 (NKJV)

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
~ Romans 5:5 (NKJV)

There's lately been more than one cause in my life for me to think on what hope means.

In the movie Shawshank Redemption, a man in prison says, "Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. It's got no use on the inside."

And so it is. When we feel imprisoned in some way—by jail walls, by a hated but necessary job, by sickness, by rejection, by a stigma wrongfully forced upon us, by conflict in a relationship—hope is dangerous. It opens the door to expectation for change, and we know that life is brutal to expectations.

But without hope, we fail to act as our own catalyst for change. We fail to confront the status quo, telling ourselves "it is what it is." We fail to pursue what we are called to do that painfully stretches us. We fail to chip away at the walls we build around ourselves which have come to feel secure in their dependability and protection from uncertainty.

True hope is not expectation for something specific, like to get a new job, or to change the person we struggle with, or to attain a goal we've set.

True hope says, "This pain, this indignity, this labor—this love—is not in vain. It drives me to be a catalyst for change where change is needed. It drives me to cooperate with the plan God has to bless me and work for good. It allows me to surrender even that which I think I need, because God says to do so, and Faith in His Love gives me Hope for something even better."

Genuine hope does not die. But it does cease, as does faith. 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Faith is being certain of the unseen. It finds its fulfillment—and ceases—in the seeing.

Hope is waiting for promised blessing. It finds its fulfillment—and ceases—in the receiving.

Love is greatest. And on the day spoken of in Scripture as That Day, love will no longer wax and wane, but will find complete fulfillment, for love cannot cease.

That is true hope.

"Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well
but the certainty that something makes sense,
regardless of how it turns out."
~ Vaclav Havel

Lord, faith does not fail us when faith is in You. Hope does not disappoint when hope is in You. Love always trusts, love always hopes, and love never fails, for You, Lord God, are love.

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image Source: cenotemexico.com
#hope

Kindness Says ...

This is a late entry in the blog carnival hosted by Bridget Chumbley.
For more about it, click here on "Kindness."

"The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven,
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed.
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."
~ Portia, from William Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice

Kindness Says ...

No task is beneath me, for that would place the one who performs it beneath me.

No one is unworthy of my attention, and therefore everyone is worthy of notice.

Every person is a masterpiece—highly valued by the Creator and therefore valuable to me.

Whatever someone's need, I'm willing to ask the Lord if I should do anything about it.

Those who cross my path should leave me in a better condition than they were before I found them.

There can be no presumption that any person walks an easier path through life than me, for poverty can be of health, love, or soul.

Everyone has something they might teach me if given the opportunity.

Everyone has a valid need to be validated.

For the person who bothers me by what they are, may I remember who they are.

Whatever I do or fail to do to those I consider the least, I do to the One Who breathed life into them.

Lord, I understand the language of kindness. Please help me speak it fluently.

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
#discipleship
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Long Distance Love

"I don't want to go without Your touch
without Your love filling me like an ocean ..."
~ Avalon, from "I Don't Want to Go" (Full lyrics below)

Long Distance Love

And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so. Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, 'May the LORD be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.' "
~ 1 Samuel 20:41-42 (NKJV)

I read a piece yesterday by Billy Coffey, titled "Love Still Holds On," about a long distance romance in the life of his work acquaintance.

It called sharply to mind how my own marriage began. In the days before unlimited minutes, John and I ran up monthly phone bills which ran over $200 in '89 dollars. We spent enough on airline tickets that we might have received stock rather than frequent flier miles. I'd become certain within weeks of meeting him that this was the man I'd one day marry, so the differences of miles and time zones were trivial deterrents to long distance love.

When I moved to Michigan in 1990, lovesickness obscured thoughts of what it meant to leave behind family. Within a short time I came to appreciate the bonds with my siblings in a way I might have never otherwise understood. We do not simply share the DNA of common parents, but the souls of common experience. We know one another in ways even spouses will not. Long distance love became multiplied exponentially in my life with the births of our own children—who can seem more like siblings than cousins.

Facebook has been a Godsend. After nearly two decades mostly away from family members, I'm again a part of their daily lives, their laughs and foibles, their joys and sorrows and wit. A face on the computer screen can never be the same as kissing their cheeks and hugging their necks, but it has closed the gap of time zones and miles with the cost of mere minutes.

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
~ Psalms 34:17-18 (NKJV)

This month I've published pieces on suffering and how Christians should treat homosexuals, on the heels of my own stifling pain and months of intense stress. I've learned things in the last year that could fill a book, a number of which have appeared on the pages here. Of all the things suffering has taught me, one stands out.

Relationship with our God is anything but long distance love.

I'd known that. His Spirit lives in me as an abiding presence I never cease to feel. His whispers assure me of His proximity. I wrote an entire novel with a thread running through it that the Lord is near.

But the inability to see my Father's face, kiss my Savior's scarred feet, or touch their Spirit's embrace made my Lord seem like a God too far. It can bring on separation anxiety to rival any infant's with its mother. It can make me long for Heaven with a pain that death cannot possibly match with its own grip, but only release with its interruption of my tears.

I've lately come to know how very near my God is, and that He is very closest when our hearts are broken and we offer them to Him.

My Lord and my God, Your love is higher, wider, longer and deeper than the deepest pain we might know. Thank You for giving us a taste of Your love now, as assurance and hope of the love we shall know.

You changed my world
When You came to me
You drove a passion
In my soul down deep
Lord, to follow You in everything

I don't want to go somewhere
If I know that You're not there
'Cause I know that me without You is a lie
And I don't want to walk that road
Be a million miles from home
'Cause my heart needs to be where You are
So I don't want to go

So come whatever
I'll stick with You
I'll walk, You'll lead me
Call me crazy or a fool
For forever I promise you that...

I don't want to go somewhere
If I know that You're not there
'Cause I know that me without You is a lie
And I don't want to walk that road
Be a million miles from home
'Cause my heart needs to be where You are
So I don't want to go
Without Your touch
Without Your love
Filling me like an ocean
For Your grace is enough
Enough for me
To never want to go somewhere
If I know that You're not there

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
#suffering
Lyrics "I Don't Want to Go" by Avalon, © 2001 Dried Rose Music / New Spring Puslishing

Question of the Week: How to Treat Homosexuals?

"Do not be angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be."
~ Thomas A. Kempis

Q: How should the church treat homosexuals? (from Anonymous)

First, God does not hate anyone. God is love, and no matter who you are, He loves you.

"The church" is people—people who have given themselves to Jesus Christ and received forgiveness of their sins through His blood, which pays the death penalty for all sin.

The authority for Christian belief and conduct is the Bible. [Next week's Q&A will explain belief in the Bible in greater detail.] For anyone who trusts it as God's Word, the Bible provides both the Creator's rules for how to live and answers for every question life poses.

The Bible says God created humanity, and created sex as the good and healthy means to not only reproduce human life, but also to bond together a man and woman in the vital relationship of marriage.

Homosexuality, or sexual acts between members of the same sex, cannot be marriage because God instituted marriage and defines it otherwise. God calls homosexuality an "abomination" (Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:27) because it perverts His original intent for sex.

But before you take that thought too far, consider that there are other, non-sexual acts which are so offensive to God that they are also called an abomination. Look at this passage from Proverbs 6:16-19 (NKJV):

These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren [or, in a community].

The Bible therefore challenges us to understand exactly what might be defined as "abominable" sin. It also explains in Galatians 6:1-2 (TNIV) how to treat people who exhibit sin:

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Here is how I apply all that to today's question:

• The Bible's Number One commandment, in all circumstances, is Love.

• Christians must be mindful that every one of us has been guilty of sin which is an abomination.

• Any individual's primary problem is not one particular sin, whether it's homosexuality or pride or stirring up discord. Every person's first need is understanding that they need Jesus to save them from all sin.

• Concerning people who come to church, we should distinguish between: 1) people who come to church to visit, who are asked to respect us, but who don't understand our Bible's "house rules"; 2) newer believers, who need time to learn the house rules; and 3) those who have been around long enough to know the Bible and be expected to live by it.

• When people who have established themselves as part of the church display open immorality, Christians of sufficient maturity are obliged to address it, and to do so with the empathy which views sin as a burden. In cooperation with God's Spirit, we should sensitively work to help people see sin as a burden to themselves—reminding them of the cost for Jesus to carry its full weight to the cross—and help them find greater freedom from sin’s burden, with rebuke if necessary.

• Did I mention that the Number One rule for treatment of all people, whether outside or inside the church, is Love?

I'd like to close with an apology.

To homosexuals, and to every person who has been hurt by the misguided Christians who remember that sin is abominable but sometimes forget that love is far greater ...

On behalf of my fellow Christians, I admit we are wrong when we get our priorities out of order, or when we attempt to address sin of anyone else before we adequately address our own sin. I confess that we struggle against our own abominable sins, including sexual sins. I ask you to forgive us and be patient with us as we grow to be like Jesus our Lord and learn to live like He asks us. God loves you more than you can possibly imagine. I also love you, very much, as do a great many Christians who remember the importance of love. Please give us the opportunity to better learn how to show you that love.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: tedsoqui.blogspot.com

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This post originally appeared at Bullets & Butterflies. To see additional comments, click here.

The Overcoming of Suffering

The Question of the Week for Bullets and Butterflies last Saturday was "Why Suffering?" The answer is expanded on this week's posts here.

"Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive."
~ Josephine Hart

The Overcoming of Suffering

"Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament ... and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy... These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
~ John 16:20,33 (NKJV)

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty...
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
~ Psalms 91:1,4-6 (NKJV)

The "overcoming of suffering" does not mean that we overcome suffering, but that suffering is the impetus by which we overcome all else.

Survival is motivated by visible threat. In times of horrendous crisis we are compelled to overcome. When faced with an attacking enemy we do not hesitate to fight.

It is amid the drudgery of tasks just as necessary to survival, in the oppressive mundane of the every day—where we are stared down not by visible foe but by the unrelenting erosion of trivial vexations—that we are more likely to succumb to defeat.

Suffering rescues us from this more dangerous threat. It compels us to rise to our potential and makes us strong so that we do not merely withstand, but we overcome life’s challenges.

The cuts which suffering inflicts upon us can be deep and painful. We understand when we receive them that they will leave scars. Those marks will prove to be the work of a Master carving a masterpiece if we accept them rather than resist His hand or flee His presence.

The soul which stays close to the Most High God remains in the shadow of His wings. This person may not understand the cuts of suffering, but feels the assurance of the Lord’s companionship as He shares our suffering. This soul does not forsake hope.

The soul which is far enough away from the Almighty to escape His shadow will languish in suffering. This person will know doubt and despair, and will allow hope to slip away.

We are easily distracted sheep and prone to wander. But in the moment we discover that our attention has left the Shepherd, memory should serve well to draw us immediately back to the safety of abiding with Him.

Almighty God, You are only good, all the time. You do not willingly afflict the children of men. Though You cause grief, You are full of compassion. Please draw us close to You. Please assure our insecure hearts of Your constant love.

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
#suffering
Image source: thewe.cc