God created people, the crown of His creation, and God found it very good – that He has created man (Gn 1:31). God even has given man rule over His creation (Ps 8:7). Yet it often seems that man has made a mess of what God created, warping God's good creation with exploitation, perversion, and disorder.
It's easy to be skeptical about the future of this earth and of mankind when we consider the problems man has created. I have six children, and there were times when I would think: "What kind of miserable world is left for my children in which to live?" My hope in the future would wane. After years of prayer, God has changed my musings to hope. When my skepticism returns, I now think: "What kind of wonderful children have I left to this world!" I see once again with eyes of hope that each new human life is God's investment of hope in the world.
Yes, what our eyes naturally see is a world warped by human sin and selfishness. "But hope is not hope if its object is seen" (Rm 8:24). Hope in God, Who is greater than the spirit of this age (see 2 Cor 4:4; 1 Jn 5:5). Ask the Lord for "a birth unto hope which draws its life from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pt 1:3). "This hope will not leave us disappointed" (Rm 5:5).
| PRAYER: | Father, may I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus (Heb 12:2) and never let go of the hope He is giving me. |
| PROMISE: | "God looked at everything He had made, and He found it very good." –Gn 1:31 |
| PRAISE: | With God's grace, Rick was able to forgive a neighbor who literally transgressed him and was rewarded with a special friendship with the former transgressor. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College