Messengers of Hope!

I have spent almost 60 years ‘hoping’ that the Maple Leafs would win another Stanley Cup – and I am not alone.  The players, coaches, managers and even owners have changed many times.  Each new team enters a new season promising hope in September and ripping it from our psyche every spring.

My harshest and unkindest friends would tell me that this kind of hope is utter foolishness.

We, who are part of the THHS family, spend at least one-third of our lives in the midst of what Paul describes in Ephesians as an environment of hopelessness.  But, we must not despair – we must be messengers of hope!

Real hope is found in a God who loves us all – unconditionally.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians could be addressed to us.  Does he not describe our situations in chapter two:  “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.”

Into this picture of hopelessness, Paul proclaims – “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ.”

This should give us great hope, and with this hope, let’s continue to be “The Hand of God, in the Heart of the City.”

Major Ray Braddock