Hope

July 3, 2010

John 20: 24-29
" Thomas, called Didymus, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them . Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and My God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Do you believe that Jesus is interested in every detail of our lives?

HOPE

Hope is what sustains a man. So goes a saying. It is what keeps us fueled in our everyday lives. The hope that someday, our lives could improve, the hope that someday we will heal of our physical pains; the hope that one day we would be rich; the hope to get employed; the hope that one day our dreams would come true. Hope then is vital-- for others.

"Do not be unbelieving but believe!" The Lord is plainly telling me to believe Him! Stubborn as I am, I do not want to because I am afraid to hope, for with hoping comes dis appointments then pain. It had been a long time now that I had been hoping for something or someone. I have remained hopeful for that one person to the point that I have become stupid. Even as I condone myself for continually hoping, I could not help it, I still hope, hence I hurt.

So I want to stop hoping. To stop hoping that there could be a better future for me out there. To just continue to live day by day. To stop hoping so that I could stop hurting. When I stop hurting there would no longer be pains. But today's gospel reminded me that God is at work in every detail of our lives. He never misses out. His delays are deliberate for he has something greater in store for us. We all just have to believe. And believe.

So for now, If I want to go on living, I will continue to hope even if it hurts even if it pains me for it is only in hoping that I get to experience the beauty of God's plot for my life. For if something I have hoped for in years did not come to fulfillment I would be able to appreciate greatly the exchange he has provided. An exchange of something bigger than I expected and the very thing I deserve. So I will hope for only in hoping I come to appreciate FATE.