Hope for the hopeless

By Jeff Jacobson, Pastor of Okehampton Baptist Church

I WAS just speaking with someone at the foodbank who was impacted by the definitions of words. They thought that if we knew the correct definition of love, than we would all love. While I agree that the meanings of word is important, the way we use words has more to do with our experience than opening up a dictionary and learning what it means. One could know the right definition of 'love', but never experience what true love is. Our life experience brings power to the words we use. Or if we take another word like 'hopeless'. When your life is hopeless, it is much more than a word; it is a dark shadow over your life. It seems like nothing will ever be right again. When you look around our community you will see people suffering from hopelessness. You'll see hurting families, broken relationships, and people without work. Many of those around us, maybe even for yourself — things seem hopeless. One of the most comforting parts the Bible for me, is God speaking to a people like this, people who do not have hope. God says to them: 'I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and hope. Seek after me!' This word hope isn't just a word but a journey. I've recently been reading the Lord of the Rings again. And one of my favourite lines in the whole book sums up the experience of hope. Samwise says: 'Is everything sad going to come untrue?' So often the churches have failed to be a place where hope is offered, but that is what God has designed the church for, to be a place where people can encounter the God of Hope, who will make everything sad, untrue.