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Kasper’s Corner- Anchored to a Sure and Certain Hope

Posted on by Fuller

Anchored to a Sure and Certain Hope

I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love…

indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us

from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39 New Living Translation

In the struggles of life, when hope wanes and despair creeps in, we tend to look for something or someone stronger, wiser, bigger, that we can literally or figuratively hold on to. It’s not surprising that the super-heroes of an earlier Marvel and DC comic-book age are now finding new life on the big screen to say nothing of the re-running of the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Star Wars productions on various television venues. Yes, it’s bigger than life; but when life is hard there is a need for something bigger than this life to focus on. We need to feel there is something we can count on. The only problem is that the feeling doesn’t last too long after you leave the cinema or turn off the television. Why? Because we step back into the reality that is this world which is filled with deep disappointment, unbearable loss, and excruciating pain.

This is not the world that God envisioned and first made. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. Sin crept into the Garden of Eden like kudzu and overran everything. Against its own will, all of creation was subjected to the consequences of sin. It’s not surprising that creation can’t wait to be set free from bondage to decay and death. This is not the world that was to be, but neither is it the world that is to be. Creation is groaning as if in childbirth because right now there is great pain and suffering, but it’s nothing compared to what’s coming. Running like a river through the pages of the Bible is the promise that all that is lacking will be filled, all that is broken will be restored, all that is wrong will be made right, and that, by God’s grace, what should be will be.

This is the hope to which creation is anchored and on which it holds tightly: There will be a new heaven and a new earth. A day will come when the words found in Revelation will come true, “Now the dwelling of God is with men and he will live with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away… I am making all things new!” (Revelations 21:3-5). All creation is looking to that day. And because all creation is looking to that day, even those who have no knowledge of the Bible, have no understanding of the love of God or of the extent that God went to make salvation possible, instinctively look to and hold on to this hope.

When I was in the local church, I gladly accepted community funerals when asked because the Holy Spirit may choose to touch the life of an individual or family through the Gospel message and ministry I offered. Often, I heard family and friends mention how their loved one who has perhaps endured a long illness or was in an accident or simply succumbed to the ravages of old age is “in a better place.” They are holding onto the same hope on which the rest of creation holds. While it is not the time or place to correct them, I am saddened for them when I have no reason to believe the person was a Christian.

The reason that creation anchors its hope in the day when all things will be made new is because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. If Jesus had not taken the curse of sin upon himself, there would be nothing for creation to look forward to. Jesus told Nicodemus, “God so lived the world (literally cosmos, all of creation) that he gave his only and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus gave his life out of love for all creation, which has to endure the consequences of human sin. Paul tells us, “just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin … how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:12-15).

But while creation’s hope may be anchored in the future event of Christ Jesus’ soon and coming return, we can receive the hope of eternal life now by believing in Jesus. Our anchor, then, is not in the hope of what lies ahead, but in the person of Jesus Christ; he is our hope as only in Jesus is that eternity is possible. Jesus gives us right standing with God and Jesus gives us the promised glory (Romans 8:30).

Where is your hope anchored? Far too often, Christians hope in religion. Instead of in Jesus, we believe in the plan of salvation and what Jesus can do. We believe Jesus will put things right and then lose our confidence when we see things go wrong. Or we decide we must believe and/or do certain things before we can really be sure we are a Christian, when, in fact, our beliefs and actions are the result of being a Christian, not the cause. There is, perhaps, no one more able to show us what this means than the hero of the Methodist movement: John Wesley.

John Wesley was raised in the church, literally. His father Samuel was the priest of Epworth, though his mother, Suzanna, had perhaps more influence on him and his faith. John received his schooling at Oxford. The term “Methodist” was given him and the small band of fellow students because they felt it important to maintain a certain lifestyle and conduct as Christians that included study, worship, outreach and social justice. This continued afterward he was ordained and was a professor at Oxford.

But John wrestled greatly with uncertainty and a sense of hopelessness that he could not overcome. Though ordained a priest in the church, teaching others who would become leaders in the church, John was uncertain of his own personal salvation: How could he be sure? Almost on a whim, John decided to go to Georgia, stating, “My chief motive to which all the rest are subordinate is the hope of saving my own soul.” Talk about a restless soul.

While on the way, great storms hit the little ship in the mid-Atlantic. John Wesley was afraid and disturbed about being afraid. In his journal, he asked himself, “Why is it you have no faith?” This was driven home by the evident faith of a group of 26 German Moravians. He noted, “In the midst of the psalm wherewith their service began, the sea broke over, split the main sail in pieces, covered the ship and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep would swallow us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sang on.”

John’s time in Georgia was, frankly, a fiasco. But it caused him to think. Upon returning to England, he met Peter Bohler, a Moravian, who helped John with his battle. Then on May 24, 1738, John attended a meeting on Aldersgate Street, where someone was reading Luther’s preface to Romans. “While he was describing the change which God works in the heart, I felt my heart strangely warmed, I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation: and assurance was given me …” Wesley understood, perhaps for the first time, that God gives us right standing and that Jesus, whose death and resurrection makes that right standing possible, is pleading on our behalf. More importantly, Wesley now had hope in Jesus. His lifestyle didn’t change much; it simply flowed from the sure and certain hope he had been trying to find.

Our anchor is not simply in something that will happen in the future, but in the one who holds the future. This does not mean we won’t have problems, but it does mean that our problems will never come in between us and our faith in Jesus. As Paul says, “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from [God’s] love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away… nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 nlt).

Our anchor holds, not in our own efforts, not in today, not in what is to come, but in Jesus Christ. Our anchor holds no matter what storm may try to sink our ship because our hope and trust is in Jesus. Whatever happens we can look to him and say, “Lord, I don’t understand this, but I am certain that there will be an explanation, and in the meantime, I will hang on to the fact that you are true, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. My faith and hope are in you.”

On the Journey with You – DS John

Even Believers Can Lose Hope

Posted on by Fuller

Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless?

I should trust you, Lord.

I will praise you again because you help me, and you are my God.

Psalm 42:5 CEV

 

I struggle with a variant of SAD – Seasonal Affect Disorder. It usually affects me in the late fall and winter months when the days are shorter and often cloudier. The wet, rainy, cloudy weather we recently endured had me longing for sunshine. SAD manifests itself as gloominess which doesn’t so much hit you as it sneaks up on you. Even though I have resources to keep it at bay, stress and certain intense situations can easily be followed by bouts of melancholy and feelings of hopelessness.

When the affects of SAD creep up I find myself often repeating a phrase from one of David’s psalms, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?” (Psalms 42:5). I can feel this growing void inside me. God seems distant at best. I often question my relationship with God and chide myself for not praying enough or failing to read my Bible. I wrestle with an unspoken and inaccurate assumption: Christians, and especially pastors, are not supposed to struggle with depression and hopelessness.

We all have expectations and beliefs about our lives and about God. We plan, dream, and live accordingly. When our expectations go unfulfilled or our assumptions about God prove false, it’s as if we miss the chair that should support us and we sit with a thud on the floor. Embarrassed, disoriented, ashamed, we holler, “Stop the world! I want off!” and look for a place to hide and maybe cry. We feel alone, but we’re not. There are people all around us who are putting on a good show but inside are struggling with the haze and gloom of depression. A number of men and women of faith in the Bible experienced those same feelings of hopelessness and despair: Job, Jonah, Moses, Mary, Elijah – to name a few. When we look at their lives, we can discover factors that lead to depression and ways to respond to it.

Although depression can occur without an apparent cause, one major trigger is loss. We tend to experience loss in one or two areas at a time. Job lost everything all at once: possessions, family, health, position in community, job. In the course of a few short hours everything was gone except his wife, who lovingly told him to curse God and die, and three friends, who in most encouraging ways told him that it was his own fault. Job’s loss shook his faith to the very core; he wished he had never been born. We may not experience loss to the degree Job did, but loss and grief can combine to plunge us into an emotional darkness.

Jonah’s reason for feeling hopeless sounds rather petty in comparison: he was furious with God for canceling plans to destroy Nineveh. Jonah was kind of looking forward to the destruction of one of Israel’s staunch enemies. But when Nineveh repented and God didn’t rain down destruction Jonah sulked. Anger such as Jonah’s can lead to depression.

Moses wasn’t angry at God, but he did get angry at the people God had called him to lead. They whined, complained, threw fits, disobeyed God’s explicit instructions, failed to trust God, were ungrateful … the burden alone caused depression and despair. But anger can also lead to poor response. On one occasion the murmuring and complaining became too much; instead of speaking to the rock, Moses in anger struck the rock. God still gave water, but Moses spent time enduring the shame of failing God and still had to deal with the consequences of his action at the end of his life – he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. Wrestling with the aftermath of our anger can result in disappointment and depression.

Physical or emotional exhaustion is another cause of depression. Elijah’s victorious stand against the prophets of Baal required a great deal of physical and emotional energy. If that were not enough, Elijah then ran for his life because Queen Jezebel wanted to kill him. Elijah’s exhaustion led to depression. When hope seems gone and depression sets in it becomes difficult to get that spent physical and emotional energy back. Elijah went alone into the desert, found a broom tree, sat down, and prayed, “I have had enough, Lord… Take my life” (1 Kings 19:4). Some of you may have come to that place in your life. You want out: “I just want to run away.” “I need a vacation NOW!” “Stop the world! I want off!” “What’s the use? I’m not making a difference anyway.” “This life isn’t worth it anymore.” In our heart of hearts, we know these reactions aren’t quite right but this is what we are feeling, this is our reality.

Thankfully, the lives of those in the Bible who suffered depression and hopelessness also show us four key ways to respond:

First, Pray Honestly. Your prayers may seem self-centered. That’s okay, God is already fully aware of you. Don’t be afraid to pour out your heart to God passionately and honestly. Reeling from his losses, Job said, “I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul” (Job 7:11). Throughout the discourse of nearly 30 chapters, Job refused to be condemned unjustly. While God did not give the reason why, God did honor Job for his honesty.

Elijah was honest with God about his feelings, “I have been very zealous for the lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me” (1 Kings 19:10&14). Hopelessness thrives on unexpressed feelings. When we hold onto our anger, disappointment, and pain we nourish depression. When we express our true feelings to God, we open a channel for God to work.

Next, Identify Distorted Thinking. Distorted thinking isn’t always apparent to us when we are depressed. After Elijah declared to God, “I am the only one left,” God reminded him that 7000 faithful followers remained (1 Kings 19:18). Hopelessness often shifts the focus inward and distorts our perspective. With Jonah, God provided a plant to give the prophet shade, and the next day sent a worm to destroy the plant. When Jonah complained, God used the plant to help correct Jonah’s faulty thinking. If we will be open to the possibility that assumptions could be wrong and focus upwardly and outwardly instead of inwardly, God can realign our view.

Make Physical Adjustments. Because depression is an illness of the body, mind, and spirit, adjustments to one area can positively affect the others. When Elijah was ready for God to take his life, God’s first response was to meet his physical needs. He allowed Elijah to sleep. An angel brought food and encouraged him to get further rest. Because I now understand how SAD affects me, I have installed daylight spectrum lightbulbs, take extra doses of vitamin D, take a mild anti-depressant, get out in the sun as much as possible, and strive to exercise more. Attend to your physical needs of rest, exercise, change in diet, or other factors. Be willing to talk with your doctor, especially if depression persists or you can’t identify any underlying causes.

And Share Your Burdens. Our tendency is to crawl inside ourselves; instead, we need to allow and even ask others to share the burden. When Moses expressed his discouragement, God told him, “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders… They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone” (Numbers 11:16-17). Elijah was instructed to anoint three people to various positions, the most important of which, I believe, was Elisha, his successor. For Elijah, this gave him a purpose and a companion. God has blessed me with a loving and supportive wife, and I have several colleagues who, in different ways, help me to “carry the burden.”

We are not exempt from depression; even believers can lose hope. It is not a moral weakness. It can, however, result from loss, exhaustion, and carrying a burden alone – circumstances to which we are all vulnerable. Yet, in the chaos of depression and hopelessness, God is still faithful. If we will respond with honest prayer, realigned thinking, physical adjustments, and a willingness to share, God can and will fortify our faith and enable us to persevere.

Take a moment right now to respond to whatever it is in your life that you are dealing with. Silently pray to God with honesty and passion. Purposely let God to know your heart’s desire. Allow God to realign any perspectives and show you the way.

On the Journey with You,

DS John

Kasper’s Corner- Hope Instead of Unbelief

Posted on by Fuller

Hope instead of Unbelief

“Blessed are all those who never see Me and yet they still believe.”

John 20:29 The Voice version

Did you ever notice how hard it can be to share good news with some people? Ever notice how hard it is to accept and believe good news? What is it that causes such skepticism?

Remember Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome?

These special women got up early that first Easter morn to finish preparing Jesus’ body for burial. While on the way they realized a huge obstacle was in the way between them and Jesus and they did not have the ability to remove it. But when they looked up, they found that the stone had already been rolled away. Then an angel tells them that Jesus isn’t dead anymore.

What would you expect their reaction to be? This was the greatest news ever, so we’d expect that they would be jumping up and down celebrating and partying. The angel told them to go tell the disciples, so they ran as fast as they could to share the good news, right?

Except that’s not how Mark reads. “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid” (16:8). John tells us that Mary Magdalene did go to the disciples, not to tell them Jesus had risen, but that someone had taken Jesus from the tomb (20:2). Peter and John go to check out what Mary had said. Sure enough, the tomb is empty; Jesus is gone. But there is no party. Instead, they lock themselves up in a room too scared to come out, afraid that they might suffer the same consequences as Jesus.

What’s the problem? The stone was rolled away. The angel told the women Jesus was alive. Jesus had previously told the disciples on numerous occasions, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life” (Matthew 17:22-23). But they didn’t remember. All they know is that Jesus is dead. There is no physical stone in the way to separate them from Jesus, but there is a stone. It’s a big, huge stone and it’s been keeping people from Jesus for centuries. It’s the stone of unbelief.

The stone of unbelief is ominous, casting a dark, gloomy shadow over everything. It refuses to see good and only sees negative. It closes the mind to possibilities. It is itself death. And because unbelief is death that is all it knows. The disciples had seen Jesus crucified; they had watched him die. Life is done; it’s over, finished. Satan wants us to think that Jesus died and all hope died with him by placing the stone of unbelief in our way. One of the reasons there is so much death and destruction in this world is because people don’t have hope; they don’t know that there is more to life than this life. So, they live only for this life and what this life might give them before they die.

If you are living only for today because you think there is no future, no life beyond now, I have good news for you. From behind the stone of death Jesus rises to life; onto the gloom of unbelief Jesus shines; and into the locked room of now Jesus steps to roll away the stone of unbelief so that we can believe. Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me … will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Unbelief breeds death, but Jesus came that we might “have life, and have it to the full” (John10:10).

The stone of unbelief looms large and creates fear. For the disciples, who thought Jesus was dead and hope was gone, the fear of what might happen to them locked them into a room. How interesting it is that even when you think you have no purpose for living you still fear what others might do to you. But there was more to the disciples’ fear for it was accentuated by the guilt that they had contributed to Jesus’ death and now their own lack of hope by betraying him, denying him, and not standing up for him. Fear and death go hand in hand, inextricably tied together.

How often don’t we live in fear that we won’t measure up, that we have done something that betrayed our God and that he would not forgive? How often has the stone of our unbelief limited the greatness of our Jesus? In spite of our fear, Jesus rolls away the stone of unbelief and death and declares “Peace.” Not just a peace of quiet and lack of confusion and hostility, but shalom – the restoration of physical, moral, and spiritual well-being that all will be as it was intended to be from the beginning. And from the beginning it was intended that we would live not die; that we would experience love, not fear; and that we would know God. And even as we received the image of God as he breathed life in us in the beginning, so too we receive the Spirit of God as Jesus blows the death of unbelief away and breathes new life into all who believe.

The stone of unbelief demands proof: “Seeing is believing.” Thomas wasn’t there the first time Jesus “popped in” on the disciples. There was no way he was willing to believe the others unless he had proof. We are often no different. Before we are willing to submit to surgery, we want to know that the surgeon is successful. Before we invest in a project, we want to be certain that our time, energy, finances, and sweat equity will not be wasted. If we are going to commit ourselves to a relationship with God, we want proof.

Then Jesus rolls the stone of unbelief away and presents proof. For Thomas, Jesus presented himself, holes and all, “Put your finger here; see my hands … put [your hand] in my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Satan wanted Jesus to prove himself and Jesus replied, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” But I am amazed at how many times Jesus rolls away the stone of unbelief by providing the proof we demand so that we will believe. What is important to God is that nothing will become an obstacle between us and God, especially unbelief.

That is the very reason Jesus came and is the intended outcome of Jesus’ mission, life, death, and resurrection: to remove any obstacle between us and God. Paul says that “righteousness comes from God to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans.3:22-24). God in Christ removed every obstacle in our way. There is nothing we can or could do to earn salvation. But we must believe; for “it is by believing you may have life in his name.”

Believe … perhaps it’s too simple. But it is faith that enables us to live, faith that dispels our fears, faith that accepts what we cannot see, and faith that sees beyond unbelief to the heart of Jesus. Is that why believing is easier for little children? Jesus said that if we have childlike faith, we will see God.

“Blessed are all those who never see Me and yet they still believe.”

With you on the Journey, DS John

Kasper’s Corner: Hope: An Exquisite Design

Posted on by Fuller

Hope: An Exquisite Design

For surely, I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord,

plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 NRSVUE

It’s one of the most incredible promises in the Bible and a favorite verse of many. And why not? What child of God wouldn’t want to be reminded again and again of such a wonderful promise of blessing? Yet, as incredible as those words of promise are, when life becomes real this promise can become a real problem. What’s a promise like that worth when life starts falling apart, when everything starts to go terribly wrong?

In my first parish I mentored a wonderful couple through premarital counseling. After a beautiful wedding and in due time, they became pregnant and were filled with great joy as they prepared for their child’s arrival. But after the transition to the third trimester, mom started having severe headaches and high blood pressure. The doctor admitted her to the hospital with a diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. To save her life, the baby would have to be delivered. Bethany was born very pre-mature. She could literally fit into the palm of my hand. Her father’s wedding ring could slide over her arm with room to spare.

Statistically, she should not have lived; but Bethany was a fighter. Still, there were many times her prognosis was grave at best. Complication set in on various occasions. Finally, after many weeks and months, Bethany was healthy enough to come home. As of today, Bethany has achieved her Master of Divinity – high honors throughout her education, has served in a local church, and is about to re-enter academia with the intention of becoming a college or seminary professor. She still has what my grandfather would have called “deviljha” in her eyes (meaning she is always on the lookout for excitement and surprise) and she is full of energy and spark. But Bethany will deal with cerebral palsy for the rest of her life.

I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. For a long time, Bethany’s parents weren’t sure how to respond to this oft quoted-to-them promise from Jeremiah. “Great plans God! Just what kind of future is this? How could there possibly be a plan or hope in the midst of this chaos?” Oh, they still believed in God and that God is good. But the promise … the promise became a wonderful sentiment that seemed to melt in the heat of real life.

I am certain that all of you have been in that place, probably more than once; some of you are there right now. Life throws up. Dreams are dashed. Plans get turned up-side-down. Frankly, it seems like a tornado has gone through and all that’s left is chaos. And the next person that quotes Jeremiah 29:11 to you is going to get slapped.

I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Jeremiah penned those words, not in a season of prosperity, but the exact opposite. Nebuchadnezzar had invaded the land. The king, priests, and many of the people had been taken into exile. For now, he set up his own leadership for those who were left. Soon Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed and most of those left would be killed or exiled, too. A facetious rumor had been spread they’d all be back in a couple of years. In this letter to those exiled God told them the exile will last 70 years, but Israel will return. With an average lifespan of 35 years, two generations would be gone before the promise would come to fruition. It was into that context of gloom and despair that God gave the promise.

A promise that only makes sense when life is good isn’t much of a promise. It is fair to assume that it is the context of difficulty and pain that God intends us to receive this promise as well. James tells us that everything we receive from God is good and perfect and that God does not change (1:17). God’s promise is not invalidated by trials; rather, it takes on its greatest significance in the midst of our trials. That’s because there is something deeper and richer and stronger that we can imagine going on.

As is often the case, the English translations of foreign words lose their color and richness. The Hebrew word translated “plans” is mahashaba, which has the idea of exquisite design. It describes the work of an artist or sculpture. In this promise God is saying that even when everything appears to be collapsing around us, God still has an exquisite design of beauty for our lives. This is why, even though in prison, Paul could say with confidence, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28). God isn’t scraping together some desperate scheme to bail you out of the mess you’re in; God is actually using the mess to create an eternal work of art. You just can’t see it.

Frankenmuth recently held their 2026 Snow Fest. What looked like huge piles of snow were turned into amazing sculptures by the artist. In the same way, God sees something beautiful and exquisite but it “still looks like a heap of snow” to us. The reason can be found in Isaiah where God again uses the word mahashaba: “For my [exquisite designs] are not your [designs], neither are my ways your ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher that the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my [exquisite designs] than your [designs] (Isaiah.55:8-9). God is doing something so incredible, so wonderful, so fantastic that nothing can keep God from accomplishing the plan – the economy can’t, the political climate can’t, loss of a loved one can’t, cancer can’t, heart attacks can’t, violence can’t, addiction can’t. There is not one thing and there are not a billion things taken together that can interfere with God’s exquisite design in those who love God and are called according to God’s purpose.

Our earthly nature wants understanding. But believers are set apart not by whether we know and understand the plan, but by our faith. And that faith is not in a promise, but in the God who gave and stands behind the promise. Our faith is in the God who created all that is; that God is not bound by the creation he has made. Our faith is in the God who chose not to let sin, death, and evil separate us from him; that God made a way for us through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Our faith is in the God continues to reach out in love and forgiveness to all who seek them with all their heart; that God takes up residence in them through the Holy Spirit. Our faith is in a God who does not claim that his ways will always make sense to us only that his words never lie and his plans never fail.

There is a lovely poem I have often used with funerals entitled Life’s Weaving. Perhaps you’ve heard it:

My life is but a weaving, between my God and me;

I may not choose the colors – He knows what they should be.

For He can view the pattern upon the upper side;

While I can see it only on this, the under side.

Sometimes He weaves sorrow, which seems strange to me.

But I will trust His judgment and work on faithfully.

‘Tis He who fills the shuttle; He knows what is best.

So I shall weave in earnest and leave to Him the rest.

At last, when life is ended, with Him I shall abide.

Then I may view the pattern upon the upper side.

Then I shall know the reason why pain and joys entwined

Was woven in the fabric of life that God designed.

The poem suggests that the exquisite design God is creating can only be fully appreciated after this earthly life is over. Perhaps. But if we look closely, we might just see and experience the wonder and goodness of God’s plan even in the chaos of this life. In the midst of all the difficulties of Bethany’s birth, the complications that threatened Bethany’s life, and the hurdles she continues to face, it was and can be tough to hang onto the promise that God has an exquisite design for her and her family all in this. Talk to Bethany or her parents today and they will tell you with an emphatic “Yes!” that God does. Bethany’s life already gives evidence of God’s exquisite design. She/they look forward with anticipation to what God is going to do next.

I know the exquisite design I have for you, says the Lord, the exquisite designs for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

On the Journey with You,

DS John

 

Bethany gave permission to use her story.

 

Kasper’s Corner- Hope Realigned

Posted on by Fuller

I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Lamentations 3:17-18, 25-26 NIV

He sits alone in the dirt. Puffs of dust on the horizon are all that can be seen of the enemy. The city is laid waste, ransacked and leveled. Embers still smolder, ashes of the temple float in the air. Somewhere in the ruins a mother who managed to hide from the marauders wails at the loss of her child; but most are gone now, slain or prisoners of war.

He had spent a lifetime trying to tell them, imploring them to change, revealing the consequences if they did not turn their lives and their society around. But would they listen? No. Though he had prophesied Jerusalem’s fall, the butchery of the Babylonians had stunned Jeremiah. Sobs racked his body. Endless tears ran down his cheeks, mixed with the dirt on his face and caked in his beard. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Daughter of Zion, City of God, fallen. Gone.

The prophet knew in his heart that the city’s punishment was just; but that didn’t stop the ache in his soul as he watched his city burn. Everything he’d ever cared about and all his dreams were utterly destroyed. “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”

There are too many for whom Jeremiah’s situation feels all too real: Communities in immerging from the ravages of winter storm; Ukraine, Gaza, countries in Africa and South America, North Korea, and more dealing with the war, despot governments, or civil upheaval; fear and anxieties on our own homefront as governmental dictates are being carried out in ways that are just plain wrong; closer to home some have lost everything to fire, lives have been torn asunder by marital conflict and divorce, by death of a loved one, by health issues, by job loss, by … you fill in the blank. When hope is shattered, there is an understandable emotional outcry. We lose something that gives us life and energy and lose the ability to look beyond present circumstances into future possibilities. Our disappointment easily becomes bitterness and despair. With the prophet Jeremiah we lament, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord” (18).

It is in the gravity of such great disappointment, of such great despair at the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and the nation’s exile that Jeremiah writes Lamentations. A lament is a funeral dirge, a “song of sorrows.” I think we’ve lost the art of writing down what we cannot express. It is often in the putting to paper that we are able to sort our thoughts and realign our perspectives. Jeremiah in this lament provides for us pattern by which to realign our perspective and our hope in the midst of despair so that we can rise above the pain and face the circumstances in appropriate ways.

Jeremiah begins lamenting the loss of everything dear to him. He has not received from God what he expected. How often aren’t we in the same place? Grief is real; it needs to be acknowledged and faced honestly. But by the middle of the lament, Jeremiah’s perspective changes; hope begins to replace despair. The circumstances are the same – he’s still looking upon a smoldering city – so what has caused this change? Jeremiah has realigned his perspective and changed his focus. Instead of hoping for something from the Lord, he is hoping in the Lord.  “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him” (25).

When we are hoping for something from God, we are still looking at our circumstances; we want something to make our circumstances better. Working to change the circumstances is not wrong but when that becomes the first and primary response, God is usually overlooked. Our response is typically self-focused, even when we say we are focusing our emotions and actions on the fate of others. If we would truly respond in a God-like way, with the love of God to be able to offer true hope, then we must first align our relationship with God and put our hope in God. So how do we do that? How do we put our hope in God?

Hope in God is a decision, an act of faith. After voicing his despair, Jeremiah chose to remember what he knew was true about God. “This I will call to mind…” (21). “I will say to myself…” (24). Jeremiah knew what God had promised and what God’s character was like and chose to focus on those things instead of allowing his motions and emotions to be in control. Our feelings are based on limited and skewed perspectives of reality. Like Jeremiah, we need to actively recall the truth of who God is. The only accurate picture of God is found in God’s Word. When disappointment becomes more than you can bear, the Word of God will help you to realign your hope by reminding you of the truth of who God is.

Placing hope in God reminds us that only God truly satisfies. Jeremiah reminds himself, “The Lord is my portion” (24). It is a statement of absolute dependence on God; the Lord alone is enough. How often do we turn to inferior things of this world in an attempt to find satisfaction? But, as David states repeatedly in the Psalms, it is a relationship with God that fills. “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name will I lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you” (63:4-5). “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (16:11).

Placing hope in God requires reflection and solitude. Jeremiah says a curious thing in verses 26-28: “It is good to wait quietly … sit alone in silence.” Recognizing that God is enough even in the midst of disappointment is a vital aspect of placing hope in God. This kind of silence can be a scary thing. When you pour out your thoughts and unload your heart it can take a long time for your heart to stop racing as you wonder what God will do with it all. Jeremiah had a lot of time to sit alone in silence and reflect upon his circumstances and the truth of who God is. We may have to carve out time to deeply reflect on the truth of God’s character.

Hoping in God does two things: it recognizes that the things of this world aren’t going to satisfy the aches in our souls no matter how much we believe they will and so enables us to have a sure foundation when the things of this world drop out from under us. This realignment of focus, then, is just as important for those of us experiencing blessing as it is for those experiencing loss and disappointment. Both are equally capable of destroying us if we fail to respond to them properly. Apart from a hope that transcends the words, pictures, thoughts, and travesties that demand our primary focus on a daily basis there can be no release from the endless cycle of disappointment, anger, and hopelessness.

Align your hope in God first. Only as we place our focus on God first and put our hope in God will we be truly free to respond with care, love, justice, and mercy. With Jeremiah let us say, “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (25-26).

Caution: scam/junk/phishing emails

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It has been brought to our attention that various district clergy, including DS Kasper, are being imitated in scam/junk/phishing emails.

Just use extra caution if you see any email that seems unusual, especially if it requires clicking a link that prompts you to re-enter your email and password.

Collen Godfrey from Clarkston UMC put together a guide that recommends the “STOP” approach to email:

Before clicking ANY link or attachment, use the STOP method:

S – Is this email Suspicious?
T – Is it Telling me to click something?
O – Is it Offering something too good to be true?
P – Is it Pushing me to act immediately?

If any answer is “yes,” STOP and verify before proceeding.

Then remember to STOP again:

S – Slow Down – Urgency is a red flag
T – Type the address yourself – Don’t click links
O – Open nothing unexpected – Verify attachments first
P – Prove the sender – Call them using a known number

Important Note: Some links are legitimate and safe to click—such as account verification emails, password resets, or multi-factor authentication (MFA) codes. The key difference: you’re expecting these emails because YOU initiated the action. If you just signed up for a service or requested a password reset, that verification email is legitimate. If you receive an unexpected “verify your account” email for something you didn’t initiate—that’s suspicious. We do sometimes change software services at CUMC, and in doing so invitations to join/create accounts are sent out. If you have any questions about the legitimacy of the invitation, contact me before clicking links.

This applies to emails, text messages, and QR codes. Scammers exploit our good nature and busy schedules.

When in doubt, don’t click. Report as Phishing, Junk or Delete. 

(Credit on STOP method to All Things Secured | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxlR1st8QKI)

Kasper’s Corner- The Hope of Glory

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The Hope of Glory

The mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations has now been revealed to his saints.

To them God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:26-27 NRSVUE

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? It’s still early in the year, so I suspect you haven’t broken any of them yet. While there are many purposes that lead to the making of resolutions, some the same year after year, the reason we make them is pretty typical: we dream of how things could be, if only …

The promise of a new year, and for that matter a new month or a new day, is that we get to start over, we get to dream again, we are given hope. We need that: fresh starts, new dreams, restored hope? These are the essence of life. These give us energy, fill our passions, and help us to move forward in anticipation.

Unfortunately, sickness, death of a loved one, loss of a job, addiction, divorce, mistakes, failures, and other tragedies – some of our own doing and some done to us – destroy dreams and leave despair in their wake. The problems and pains of human existence crush hope. As I look back on 2025, the one word that seems to best describe the mood of last year is hopelessness. More than ever before I have felt a pervading sense that the world as a whole and the worlds of individuals and families are in a downward spiral and nobody seems able to do a thing about it. While I have many personal and family highlights to look back on, I, too, have experienced this – especially in regard to the state of the church and my role as your District Superintendent. Issues and tragedies that leave us feeling hopeless.

I think Martha was feeling pretty hopeless. Remember her? Martha’s brother had become sick. She did everything she could think of to help him. She was his nurse. She called the doctor. She sent word to his best friend who had healed so many others. But, before he arrived her brother had died. We can understand her heartache, grief, and sense of hopelessness: “Jesus, if only you were here.”

We’ve all experience those times when our dreams are dashed, our hope is gone, we can’t figure out the next steps and we call out to Jesus but Jesus isn’t there, or at least it doesn’t seem that he is. We want and need Jesus now, doing what we think Jesus should do to keep our hopes alive, our dreams intact, our lives secure. But what we desire does not always line up with what is best. As Jesus told his disciples when he heard of Lazarus’ condition, “It is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Jesus told Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” That is how God will be glorified in this situation. This is best. Martha responds, “Yeh, I know – at the resurrection at the last day.” Now certainty of the resurrection at the last day is marvelous hope. Having performed many funerals for people who were not Christians or whose family did not believe, I have seen the faces of many who obviously did not have hope. Their loved one was gone, that’s the end, there’s nothing more … and they truly don’t know where to turn. Paul tells the fledgling church at Corinth, which had been given false teaching about the resurrection, “If we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Yes, the hope we have of the resurrection and everlasting life is an awesome hope!

But we, like Martha, need more than just hope for later. We need hope for now. Not taking anything away from Paul, I would also say, “If we have hope in Christ only for the next life, we will indeed be the most miserable of all people.” We need hope for both this life and the next. Jesus told Martha, though she didn’t quite get it, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). I am … not I will be or I was, but I am. Jesus is our hope now.

Paul, writing to the Colossians, tells us, “God has chosen to make known the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Notice it does not say, “Christ in you, the glory,” but “Christ in you the hope of glory.” The glory is not simply that Christ is in us but that, for all who believe, because Christ is in us, we now have hope, a potential ready and waiting to be released, that will reveal the glory of God. “I am the resurrection and the life… do you believe this?” (John 11:26).

Hope, then, is a seed within. The problems and pains of living in this world may smash our dreams and Satan will always try to crush our hope. But hope is not gone; it’s a seed always there, always ready to grow within us to not only change our mood and emotions but also change how we look at things around us. We need to get our expectations of how Jesus should work out of the way and let this hope of glory grow. Here’s how:

Take God at his Word. If we say with the Psalmist, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105), then we need to let it be that. As a teenager, I was invited to go skiing one Christmas break. Now, I had never skied before so I watched an instructor with some 5-6 year olds. They were skiing effortlessly down a fairly steep slope. I asked the instructor how long they had been taking lessons. He replied, “A few hours.” Amazed, I asked how they learned so fast. He replied, “They believe the instructor’s words and expect those words to work.” This is the essence of hope. Take God at his word – like a child.

Look beyond your present circumstances. What enables great men and women to forge ahead in spite of present circumstances is the ability to see. As the pilgrims traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate a holy day they often would recite or sing Psalm 121, “I lift my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth” (vs 1-2). The hills, mountains really, were in front of them – their present circumstance. But, looking beyond the mountains, they recognized their source of hope and strength was God. Look beyond the problems and see that Jesus reigns.

Leave the past behind.  In the movie “The Lion King,” Pumba the warthog tells Simba that it’s important to put your behind in the past; to which Timmon, the meerkat, replies, “No, no, no, you have to put your past behind you.” We may wish we could put our behind in the past; most of us need to put our past behind us. Don’t disregard the past nor fail to take responsibility for past actions. Past successes and failures are useful teaching tools. However, the ghosts of the past inhibit the hope of the present and future. So, let’s forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead so we can take hold of the prize for which God has called us (Philippians 3:13-14).

Adjust your perception of Christ. Jesus tells us he is the resurrection and the life, not simply a genie-like  helper or healer. We need to ask ourselves this: Do we want Jesus in our lives for who he is, or do we want him around for what he can do for us? For hope to grow strong in us, we must take limits off Jesus in our thinking. As we grow in understanding of Jesus’ power and reign in our lives, we will grow in hope and our actions will change, which will in turn change how we react to our circumstances.

Let hope form your faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us faith is the substance of things hoped for. When faith is shaped and given meaning by hope that is based on God’s Word, nothing is impossible. The hope of victory enabled David, armed with a slingshot, to stand toe-to-toe with a giant. The hope of deliverance caused three young men to fearlessly enter a fiery furnace. The hope of vindication enabled Daniel to sleep in a lion’s den. The most powerful hope of all is the hope of the resurrection – which enabled Jesus to go humbly yet confidently to the cross.

This is the hope that enables us to face and even overcome the tragedies and traumas of our lives. This hope finds its source in Jesus’ triumph over Satan, sin, and death. It is Christ living in us, the hope of glory. As Christ lives, we live. And through the hope which lives in us, we have the power to face confidently any adversity.

Kasper’s Corner- Invasion of the Joy Snatchers

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Invasion of the Joy Snatchers

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen     and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 NIV

It’s December. Christmas celebrations are on their way. There is a promise of joy in the air. And yet, they’re everywhere. You can run, but you can’t hide. Just when the sun breaks through to your heart, they attack, conjuring up a dark cloud to squelch your joy. They put joy in jeopardy daily. No one is immune. Even believers can fall victim to … the joy snatchers.

Habakkuk sure had trouble with the joy snatchers. Don’t know Habakkuk? He authored one of the minor prophetic books of the Old Testament the late 7th century BC. Habakkuk was a Levite associated with the temple singers, which means he normally would have been the one to encourage joy. But, instead, Habakkuk was wrestling with joy snatchers. The presenting snatcher was the Babylonian Empire which was devouring nations and soon Babylon would take God’s people into exile. Habakkuk saw it coming figuratively and literally.

He saw it coming because the people of God had abandoned God, had walked away from God’s directives for living, and had worshipped other gods. Over and again God had reached out to his people and over and again God’s people pushed him away. Now, the outcome God had told them through Moses would happen was about to be fulfilled. Habakkuk saw it coming.

What’s frightening is that I look around and see the same things happening today. People who claim to be believers, God’s people, abandoning God, walking away from his principles for living, and, whether they realize it or not, worshipping other gods. Joy is being snatched up all around us and even from within us.

Now most prophets, most of the time, speak to us call us to listen to God’s words of judgment and salvation, of confrontation and comfort. They bring us face to face us with the God who is, not the God we imagine him to be. But Habakkuk speaks our word to God. He gives voice to our bewilderment, frustration, disappointments, and dark clouds. He has identified the joy snatchers, looks to God and seeks an answer. By doing so, Habakkuk teaches us how to deal with joy snatchers: First, identify the joy snatcher. Then seek God’s answer.

Let’s consider a few of the most dangerous joy snatching culprits.

Anxiety and Fear. Solomon wrote, “An anxious heart weighs a man down” (Proverbs 12:25). When we worry it feels like we’re constantly carrying around a 100 lb. sack of potatoes: heavy, lumpy, and hard. Ever try to dance with a sack of potatoes on your shoulder? It’s nearly impossible. It’s nearly impossible to experience joy, too. David encourages us to “Cast our care on the Lord” (Psalm 55:22) and Peter says to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). When worry gets the best of you and takes your joy away, envision the weight of all your anxieties on your shoulders, reach back, grasp it with your hands, and, with all your strength, heave that sack right into God’s lap.

Comparing and Coveting. God pours many blessings into our lives. But our joy quickly runs down the drain when we covet. Discontent and ungratefulness are like two greedy hands that pull the plug on our tub of joy. When we focus on our perceived “lack” and others’ assumed “much” we are questioning God’s goodness, faithfulness, and love and worshipping other gods. We are substituting artificial happiness for real joy. David reminds us that God has “given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and wine” (Psalm 4:7) and, as Paul told Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). Gratefulness is the water of joy and contentment is the plug for the drain.

Sin. Anything that pulls us away from God’s presence pulls us away from joy. David declares, “In [God’s] presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11) and “Strength and joy [are] in his dwelling” (1 Chronicles 16:27). Sin is like a fishing lure. It appears enticing and satisfying; but once we take a bite, it hooks us and pulls us away from God. We will find that when we follow God’s directives for life they actually “give joy to the heart” (Psalm 19:8).

Busyness and Over-commitment. I’ve allowed this joy snatcher in my life far too often; perhaps you have, too. The reason this joy snatcher is so dangerous is that it can overtake us without our knowing it. Near the end of one particularly busy week I just sat down and said, “Lord, what’s going on?” God revealed that in the busyness I left no space for Him. He also revealed two dangers: 1, the work and commitments were getting in the way of my relationship with God and so could become gods and 2, the attitude that it was all up to me take care of the tasks, get the answers, and solve the problems was causing me to become god instead of God. Solomon warns, “Unless the Lord build the house, its builders labor in vain… in vain you rise up early and stay up late, toiling … [God] provides even while you sleep” (Psalm 127).

Holding on too Tightly. When we hold back any area of our lives from God, we subject ourselves to the whims of circumstances, which we now must control, because we won’t let God be in control. The more we try to control our circumstances, the more we squeeze out joy. Abraham was surely tempted to give in to this joy snatcher. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his dearest treasure, his only and long-awaited son. Though he had no idea what would happen as he hiked up that mountain, when Isaac asked where the lamb was for the sacrifice Abraham responded, “God himself will provide” (Genesis 22:7-8). When tempted to tighten our grip and take control, remember what God told Jeremiah to tell Israel, “I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (29:11).

Joyless People. When Israel celebrated the return of the Ark of the Covenant, “Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. When she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart” (1 Chronicles 15:29). A bitter or heavy-hearted person can feel jealous of or cynical about the joy in others. While being sensitive to others, we must not allow their negativism and cynicism to poison our joy. Cynicism – the distrust of the goodness of God or of others and their motives – throws cold water on the flames of joy. If we allow ourselves to buy into it, we not only jeopardize our joy, we will also be less able to enjoy or even carry out simple acts of kindness, compassion, and grace – especially needed by those who are bitter or heavy-hearted.

Unbelief. What would you consider the opposite of joy to be? It’s not sorrow. Outward circumstances may cause sorrow, but it is what we believe about God in the midst of them that impacts our joy. If afflictions and sorrow were the true joy snatcher, Paul would have been the heaviest and most joyless person in the New Testament. Instead, Paul was “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). It allowed him to say, “In all our troubles my joy knows no bounds” (2 Corinthians 7:4).

The opposite of joy is unbelief. In fact, most of the joy snatchers are rooted in unbelief. Satan is the great deceiver, the father of lies. He whispers to our spirit and into our minds thoughts such as God doesn’t really know what’s best for me. What others think about me is more significant than what God says about me. His deception slowly chokes out the joy. That is why Paul prays, “may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

We may assume that since we are children of God, chosen and loved, that we will somehow get special treatment, that we will somehow be protected from the joy snatchers. But it is perhaps because we are God’s chosen and loved that joy snatchers lurk in our lives, threatening to rob us of our joy. I have a little secret for you: Jesus promised the disciples, “No one will take away your joy” (John 16:22). Joy snatchers can’t take our joy; we have to give it up.

I also have a rather large secret for you: “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Even if you feel compelled to give it up or to have lost it, the joy that God has already given you will enable you to endure and overcome. Even though the joy snatchers were coming in strong against Habakkuk, God reminded the temple singer to trust him. Israel’s circumstances didn’t change but Habakkuk did (read the text above) and you can, too.

 

Kasper’s Corner: Be a Bridge Builder

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Be a Bridge Builder

 

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

The College Football hall of Fame, like many other such pro and collegiate Halls of Fame, is unique from other museums in that it specifically focuses on people, players, coaches, and others who have excelled in their roles, further defined the sport and role of collegiate football, and in the process bumped up the standards of expectation. But perhaps the most important role the Hall of Fame has is to give encouragement to those who will follow in the Hall of Famer’s footsteps aspiring to be the next best college football player.

Hebrews 11 takes us through a similar “museum of heroes,” often referred to as the “Hall of Faith.” The writer of Hebrews lists for us individuals noted in the Bible not for extra-ordinary achievements, as if they had accomplished anything on their own, but rather for their extra-ordinary faith which God blessed in extra-ordinary ways. These give witness to a more defined understanding of what it means to be a people of faith and even challenge us to raise the bar of our faith pursuits.

Those listed and referred to are a remarkable collection of people who by society’s standards were often looked at suspiciously because they chose to put their faith and hope in God, trusting that with God all things are possible. As Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:25). Yet, because of their faith, we are here today. Because of their faith, we have a hope that does not disappoint. Because of their faith, we have a restored relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And, because of their faith, we can know that earthly death is only a means of eternal life for those who believe.

It is these very people we recognize as Saints. The word Saint is the English translation of a Greek word used to describe those called out of the world to be holy, set apart for God. Some we would quickly acknowledge to be saints. They are early church Fathers and Mothers who risked their life and reputation so that others could know and experience the love and salvation of God: Paul and Peter, but also Acquilla and Priscilla. They are Augustine, Origen, Luther, and Calvin; John and Charles Wesley, our Methodist founders, who received most of their influence from their mother Susanna. More recent people we would call saints and put into the “Hall of Faith” include Billy Graham, Billy Sunday, and Mother Theresa.

While these names may stand out, our own “Hall of Faith” would most assuredly include pastors, Sunday school teachers, parents and grandparents, friends, neighbors and others, common yet special people who showed us God. Most would not consider themselves saints. All of them would probably look at us with puzzled expressions and declare that they had done nothing special. But they have. They were faithful to God and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They passed onto us their love of God with a desire that we have the same or greater relationship with God than they experienced. As Hebrews 11:39 states, they are to be commended for their faith. Author Will Allen Dromgoole would suggest they are bridge builders:

An old man, on a lone highway, came at the evening cold and gray to a chasm, vast and deep and wide, through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim; the sullen stream had no fears for him; but he turned when safe on the other side and built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near, “You are wasting strength with the building here. Your journey will end with the ending day. You never again must pass this way. You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide. Why build you the bridge at the eventide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head, “Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said, “there follows after me today a youth whose feet must pass this way. This chasm that has been naught to me to that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be. He, too, must cross in the twilight dim. Good friend, I am building this bridge for him.”                                                                        The Bridge Builder by Will Allen Dromgoole

Because of those saints, those “hall of faith-ers,” who lived in faithfulness before us, lived in the knowledge that others would follow them along similar paths, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not, built bridges, we know God and accept his free gift of salvation and one day we will be able to traverse the span from life to life eternal. On All Saints Sunday we recognize and give thanks to God for the faithful witness of those saints, who stayed true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ even in the midst of hardship, harm, and death.

But just as they have built bridges for us, so, too, we are to be building bridges. It seems to be an awesome task … and it is. But we are not alone. Hebrews 12:1 tells us that those who have gone before now make up a great cloud of witnesses. We have their example; and, we have their encouragement. But more than that, there is one who goes with us. Jesus promised that he would never leave us but would be with us to the very end of the age.

We are here because of the faithfulness of others. As we honor their memory, let us accept the challenge to step out in faith so that all those who come behind us will find us to be faithful.