And during times of extraordinary
trials or uncertainty—which
certainly describes what many
are going through in this time of
economic upheaval, those disciplines
become even more critical.
This argues for making use of the
current season in which we find
ourselves, Lent. Historically this is
a time when Christians take stock
of their spiritual health in anticipation
of the celebration of
Easter. It is a time of self-examination,
repentance and self-denial
(hence the idea of ‘giving up
something for Lent’)—all of
which are great ways to identify
and repent of those things that have taken root in our lives as a
replacement for the hope we
have in Christ. So take time, as an
individual and as part of a community,
to examine your life and
access the power God has given
us in his Spirit.

Of course, there’s always the
danger that spiritual introspection
can make us more despondent,
which is why repentance and
self-denial must be done in light
of retelling ourselves the ‘old
story’ of Jesus’ birth, life, death
and resurrection. Peter wrote that
this living hope comes through
“the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). This
reminds us that Christian hope is
not a philosophy or a technique but the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead
is the reason Christians believe
that Sartre’s hopelessness doesn’t
define reality; that injustice,
greed, disease and death will not
ultimately define us or the world.
Death has been swallowed up in
victory. When Jesus died, so did
death’s power over us. And when
he was resurrected, it infused the
whole creation with a living
hope. It is this old story of Jesus’
triumph that we must tell ourselves.
And to the degree that we
do, and find ourselves filled with
hope, we will naturally want to
tell the story to others. For only
in the story of Jesus will we find
what we ultimately seek—our
living hope. --David Bisgrove