Politicians are challenged to show that they will be able, in the future, to deliver on promises made in the past or the present. And of course, they cannot.
In our normal lives, we often face a challenge to show that we can deliver on some matter or another. 'Show me that you can do it!', whatever the 'it' may be. Or 'You said you loved me. Now show me!' And such challenges have their built-in self-destruction feature, because the evidence required may change with the weather. And then everyone is left ruined by the broken trust, and we are inclined to withdraw to lick the wound of our disappointed dreams.
We see this happening at many levels - cynicism about politics, and broken relationships scattered across the land.
Is there hope to be had from any source?
As St. Paul traveled round the north east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, meeting people from many cultures and backgrounds, he was fearless in presenting the story of what God had done in Jesus, to meet our human desires for hope and security. The Roman Empire promised Pax Romana, which was peace of a sort, so long as you were ready to acknowledge the supreme authority and lordship of Caesar. Paul had a different story to tell.
'When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.' (Romans 5.6-8)
Paul is able to speak of the evidence of God's saving love, because it had already been shown in the sacrificing death of Jesus. What looked like abject failure and destroyed hopes showed itself to be conquering love. And, from our side, we need to keep our eyes focused on this great love for us that God has shown for us. Then we can say with confidence, 'God is good all of the time. All of the time, God is good!'
Every blessing,
Richard
No comments:
Post a Comment