A New Hope

It has been something of a feast for journalists over recent weeks with a general election, hung parliament and then an emerging coalition government finally settling in to govern the country. But it has been much more than that. Out of the depths of economic recession, or at least an enormous debt hanging over the country, whose electorate will ultimately have to make good, and the perception that the Labour government has run out of steam, a new hope emerges in the form of a new government. Whether this is ‘new politics’ or simply a marriage of convenience is yet to be told. Yet with every new government there is a sense that the problems of the past will be addressed and the future will be brighter than it was a few days ago.

There is something wonderful in the human spirit that enables us to persevere through adversity to emerge into a brighter future; we are able to hope. Sometimes we do that blindly – it can be a bout of wishful thinking that is not based on any reality, and this type of hope may lead to great disappointment. Or it can be real hope, based on available evidence. This is not to say that hope is based on inevitable outcomes, but on a good possibility. In any case we are looking for a better future than our present or past reality.

This kind of hope is at the heart of Christian faith. No matter what our past may have wrought, there is a brighter future promised to us if we place our trust in God’s governance in our lives; as we find peace with God in the present, laying our past before him and offering our future to him. It is not based on blind hope, but on events that have shaped our human destiny over millenia - most importantly, in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. We need not be slaves to our past or imprisoned in our present, we can have a truly bright future - and that brings hope into our present. We all need new government - the higher the authority, the greater the possibilities...