On a recent Zoom meeting we were discussing what we can do about the things going wrong all around us. The consensus seemed to be, very little. Who is going to listen to a bunch of old men?
But there was a note of hope and it was based in our hope. We talk to many people as we go through out day. If nothing else, us old people talk to a lot of medical professionals from the receptionist to the specialist. We tend to waste that time talking about nonsense or carping about politics. Maybe we should target using that time to share why we are not depressed: We have a hope. One verse I like that relates to this is,
(1Pe 3:15 NAS77) but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;This assumes that we have an outlook on life that is rooted in the hope of Jesus as Lord. It demands that we cultivate attitudes that radiate that hope. It means that we can share why we are not panicked over what is coming like gangbusters. We may be preppers, in fact we should be but we are preppers with a hope. We buy extra food in case we need it, not because our hope is in a can. It is so we can be in a position to extend the love of Jesus in an emergency not to guarantee that we will be untouchable.
The man who shared this had just spent months in the hospital with extensive work being done on his heart and kidneys. He is still looking at kidneys that don’t want to function correctly. The doctor said he would be that way until he dies. He is rejoicing and expecting and sharing about the hope he has no matter how long his kidneys last. His obvious security and positive outlook caused a dissonance that caused people to ask him to give an account of the hope that is in him.
We can do the same.
homo unius libri
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