To Live is Christ — hope set on Him

This week someone sent me a link to an interview with the mayor of a large city in Eastern Canada. She skates and wields a hockey stick, and can sing and dance. She has been elected mayor for eleven terms, and has a 92% approval rating. Her city is debt-free and has 700 million dollars in the bank. She is 88 years-old.

For people my age, this is a story of hope and encouragement. Everyone who is aware of aging and physical decline wants to know that there is life beyond whatever their calendar says. How delightful to know that usefulness does not end at retirement and retirement does not have to be my dictionary.

The timing of this story goes well with the Scripture I’ve been reading. God is speaking to His people who have been in spiritual decline for a long time. Some of them stopped trying and others must have given up hope. God says,

Israel, I, the Lord, will lure you into the desert and speak gently to you. I will return your vineyards, and then Trouble Valley will become Hopeful Valley. You will say “Yes” to me as you did in your youth, when leaving Egypt. I promise that from that day on, you will call me your husband instead of your master. I will no longer even let you mention the names of those pagan gods that you called “Master.” And I will agree to let you live in peace—you will no longer be attacked by wild animals and birds or by weapons of war. I will accept you as my wife forever, and instead of a bride price I will give you justice, fairness, love, kindness, and faithfulness. Then you will truly know who I am. I will command the sky to send rain on the earth, and it will produce grain, grapes, and olives in Jezreel Valley. I will scatter the seeds and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah. I will say to Lo-Ammi, “You are my people,” and they will answer, “You are our God.” (Hosea 2:14–23, CEV)

This is so lovely. God is giving them encouragement about everything. He assures them that His anger over their sin does not mean that He will abandon them. He will take them into the wilderness, but will speak to them there with kindness. He will restore their vineyards and fruitful lives. Instead of seeing nothing but trouble, they will have hope.

Hope keeps us going. Without something to look forward to, I might not get out of bed in the morning. I have things to do and my to-do list encourages me. My life is busy and full. I’m healthy and happy. God has blessed in so many ways.

But what if I couldn’t get up or was unable to be active? What if all my blessings became adversity and trials? What if our land experienced drought, or war, or famine? Would I then have hope?

That depends on what I have been putting my hope in. Has it been the blessings? Or is it the God who bestows them? The words of an old hymn pop into my mind: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness . . . On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

Israel was tested to the max and didn’t pass the test. They had forgotten and neglected to focus on their God and lost every blessing He’d given them. He was still their hope although they didn’t realize it until He made these promises. He had never abandoned them. Instead, they had walked away from Him.

Knowing that God is with me gives me hope. I have my ups and downs, but He is always here, always watching over me. As I read these wonderful words of promise, He assures me that He is the same solid Rock for me as He was for them. I don’t need to walk away to find that out.