The Easter message is one of hope
It is easy to feel kind of hopeless right now. The world is a mess. (It always is, of course; yet the prominent wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and the incredible increase in the cost of living amplify this feeling). There is a lot to legitimately complain about. Perhaps you have found yourself complaining about more than normal lately.
This hopelessness can be kind of ‘baked-in’ structurally too. Many young people are looking at the world with despair. What will the future look like for the next generation? A future where house ownership seems impossible, where international law is seen as kind of optional, and where a small number of people control most of the world’s resources? It is understandable why the diagnoses of anxiety and depression are so high and the suicide rate is up. It is understandable why people are choosing not to have children in the face of what seems like hopelessness.
Into this context, the Christian message is one of hope. We believe in a God who remains in control of the world and its future, however it seems from our perspective. We trust in Jesus who did not just die for our sins but rose again to give us hope. Hope that death and evil and sin are not going to win. Hope that our eternal future will be so much better than today that we struggle to put it into words.
God’s people have been through many times that seemed hopeless before. Yet God always encourages them with hope. When it looked hopeless, God told the prophet Jeremiah to buy a field, symbolising a future time when crops would again be grown. When in exile, God told his people to settle down, for a time would come when they returned to the land. When tempted to be anxious, Jesus said that we should remember that our Father in heaven loves us deeply. God offers hope.
It’s Easter this weekend. If you are a Christian, come to the church services at your church and remember this hope. Life is more than the messiness revealed in the news or even the anxiety in our hearts. We need reminding that God brings peace and offers hope.
And if you’re not a Christian, consider this message of hope. Perhaps coming to church on Easter Sunday will give you comfort and things to think about in these dark days. Life is more than anxiety and God is better than you can imagine.