Hope

It is fitting that the apostle Peter concludes his final letter with a message of Hope.  Throughout both letters, he's been constantly reminding the Church to keep an eternal perspective, to focus on the hope of glory, and to be alert and self-controlled, ready for Christ's coming again.

Hope is so important in the midst of suffering, because that is what helps us to persevere. And that was also Steven Curtis Chapman and Greg Laurie's message last night in the "Evening of Hope" at Harvest Church.  After having lost both their children in tragic accidents, they say that it is their hope in Christ that carried them through, along with the support and prayers of the Body of Christ.    Steven said that of all that people said to him during that time, what helped the most were those who would recognize that "there are no words" and offer their sympathy.  The songs Steven sang from his new album truly reflect the broken heart of a father crying out to God in a time of immense pain.   There is comfort in knowing when our loved ones are part of our eternal future.

Also, this weekend, I had a chance to go to a Reasons to Believe lecture on Theistic Evolution.   Dr. Ken Samples gave a very clear and reasonable presentation on some of the challenges with the theistic evolution view; and raised many good questions that would need to be resolved in order to still be consistent with some very basic doctrines on the fall of man and Christ's redemptive work.   It showed me how important it is to think critically; and also to loving and respectfully question, in keeping with 1 Peter 3:15, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."  (And, as a fun side note, for answering all the final quiz questions correctly, I did win an eBay worthy bowling pin signed by all the RTB scholars)