Looking for Hope?

“God has set eternity in the human heart.” Ecclesiastics 3:11. Solomon penned these words along with the verses made into a familiar song. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” We can all look back at our lives and remember the seasons. We remember what it felt like to perhaps fall in love, have our first child, and the body of an energizer bunny. We can look back at those times with fondness as we enter yet another season of life.  The other day, I watched the parade of cyclists fly by on the street near our house and remembered how easy it was to bike 30 miles back to our starting place, to go out to eat and socialize afterwards, and to get up to teach the next morning. The years have flown by and getting up and having time for reflective thought and a second cup of coffee while glazing at the birds at our feeders is yet another heartwarming season.  Yet, those seasons of intent action were seasons filled with so much adventure.  It’s a time now of losing loved ones like my brother Bob and my sister Ginger. It’s almost as if there is a waiting room where our numbers will be called one day. That is why it is so important to redeem the time, seize the day and love and enjoy each moment we have on planet Earth.  There is a God shaped vacuum in our hearts longing for the time when our soul lives on in eternity. Inside, we know this is not the end. This is not a pipe dream that can’t possibly be true. Just look outside now and see the death of summer as the plants shrivel and look dead, but Spring will once again touch the Earth with its magic wand.  God has given us natural signs to illustrate heavenly principles.  He sacrificed his only Son, Jesus, and sent Him to Earth to show us how to live life by dying to ourselves. He told us to even love our enemies and think of others more than ourselves. Jesus taught us to be servants of one another and to show the world that we are “His” by our love for one another.  He said in John 17, “My prayer is not for them alone, but I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” Yes, that is us. Jesus left the world to prepare a place for us that we may see his glory.  The hope is that this experiment called “Life” will teach us how-to live here and in eternity. He says, “I am come that you may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 and knowing these thoughts make every day of my life richer. So don’t despair because of growing older and fading away like a winter plant; just know that Spring is coming.  GOD HAS SET ETERNITY IN OUR HUMAN HEART.