Hope in hell!

Many years ago I met Willy for the first time. He was evangelizing on the street during the day time and handing out food-parcels to people sleeping rough at night. His testimony was simple: “Because I knew evil and my life was a hell, I believed that there had to be a heaven and a good God somewhere. I sought Him and I found Him!”

Some people experience hell on earth. I was reminded about this when I once again met some prisoners serving life-sentences in Moldova. One of them, Vlad, became an adherent of The Salvation Army, and he gave me a painting, that made me think about Willy’s testimony. 

Vlad sought God and through Jesus Christ he found Him when he was in ‘hell’. Many of his mates have done the same. 

Someone cared, and someone cares. Last week I wrote that care influences God’s NOW. Vlad knows where he lives, and that is not ‘hell’ even though the condition around him has not changed. 

Vlad lives in Christ. 

By the way, he has given me permission to share this with you, and the prison authorities have given us permission to take pictures. Many good people, also inside the system, are working to better the conditions for prisoners in the country. 

There is even hope that there will be amendments of the law, so that prisoners serving lifetime-sentences can be released before God takes them to heaven. And we pray and hope together with them.

When I post this, it is with the hope that you who are going through a difficult time – maybe you even call it ‘hell’, shall know that there is always hope in Jesus Christ:

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Romans 8:24-26

‘Manna’ for today:

There is hope!

The last that dies…

I have heard it many times before, however it was special to hear it the context of a meeting with prisoners serving life-sentences in Moldova – a country where ‘life-sentence’ is literally a sentence for the rest of the life.

When I spoke with the inmates, I said: “I see hope in your eyes, don’t ever lose it!”. The response from several of them was immediate: “The hope is the last that dies!”

I also learned that many of them shared the same ‘one hope’ in which I have found my salvation. We are in the same ‘one body’:

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;
Eph 4:4

There is a lot of hope in the world and it can often be like undefined expectations of something better. In a spiritual Christian context there is in reality only ONE hope. This does not mean that we should not work for the best of our communities, cities and countries – on the contrary, we are encouraged to do so: “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jer 29:7). This is 100% in line with how we view our mission as a Salvation Army and the concept “Salvation for both worlds”. However, even the salvation in this world is bound to the ONE hope.

In Paul's mind, hope is something that stands forever and is synonymous with an ever-existing future. Moreover, hope is so strongly linked to Jesus that he wrote:

For in this hope we were saved.
Romans 8:24

For Paul, there is no salvation outside of Christ, so the one hope is also synonymous with Christ alone.

‘Manna’ for today:

United in Christ in ONE hope.

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Ready for departure?

NORSK
For Magna and me, traveling has become part of our routines. Occasionally I say that I am tired of traveling. It is a statement that needs modification, because it is not the journey itself and certainly not the destination of the journey I am referring to, but rather the process of getting ready for departure. It can be tiresome to prepare for a travel. This includes everything from planning and booking tickets, to packing all I need for the journey and making sure that the passport is valid. 

The term ‘ready to go’ is also used metaphorically for our final journey. Yesterday evening, we received notification that Magna's aunt Tutta has ‘gone’ to be with the Lord. Tutta was well prepared for departure. Her 'passport' was valid, her 'ticket' paid and she left everything behind when she went. At the destination, the place was prepared for her (1).

The message about aunt Tutta came just as I was reading today's greeting from Paul to Timothy:

For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come. 2 Timothy 4:6

Paul indicates that he had already been through a court-trial and that he was “delivered from the lion’s mouth” (2). Now it appears that he is waiting for a new trial, but this time he is ready to “be offered”. Therefore, he wants to have his ‘successor’ Timothy close at hand on the final leg (3).

Paul possessed a strong hope, a hope shared by all believers:

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
2 Timothy 4:8

‘Manna’ for today:

Paul’s hope is also my hope and assurance

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(1) John 14:2
(2) 2 Timothy 4:17b
(3) 2 Timothy 4:9