In the January/February edition of Breakpoint Worldview there is a report on a recent article in The Los Angeles Times about Russia’s continuing loss of population. It has lost the equivalent of a city of 700,000 people each year since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. At that rate the population would be down to 52 million by 2080; not enough to sustain the work force or the military protection of its borders. Some of the factors in the loss include the epidemic of AIDS, alcohol and drug abuse, suicide, and not much hope in the future. Of course we have to connect the loss of hope and faith to the rise of an atheistic rule that demanded the eradication of such "unnecessary" virtues. When hope is diminished faith fades, for "faith is the substance of things hoped for." Russia is in crisis in part because the people were robbed of hope. Sadly Europe seems to be speeding in the same direction. There is no guarantee that this hopeless cancer will not also destroy the effectiveness if not the existence of the United States. Mankind cannot live without a well founded hope.

What does sustainable hope look like? Is it simply hope for survival? Is it enough that the species survives or that we as a culture survive or that we as individuals survive? Is the "American dream" enough? It is sad to see grown men and women working, fighting, stressing, and saving to leave material goods to their kids who will sell the furniture in a garage sale within three months of the parents’ death. Surely the hope for a better life is not all there is, especially when the better life is described in terms of materialism.

Is hope just about escape? Is that what drives us to believe and engage? Is the world in such a pickle that destruction is the only solution? Are we looking for death to grant us a victory that Jesus was unable to give? Getting out of this ole fleshy body and into the next world has been a theme of too many sermons and songs.

Michael Williams writes, "To suggest that the sin of man so corrupted his creation that God cannot fix it but can only junk it in favor of some other world is to say that ultimately the kingdom of evil is more powerful than the kingdom of God. It makes sin more powerful than redemption, and Satan the victor over God. Reducing the gospel to a strictly spiritual dimension of human existence concedes everything outside of that dimension to the enemy."

Some of us hope for final vindication. We long to be affirmed as having been right all along. Much like the man who demanded his tombstone read, "I told you I was sick," we see God as our only hope to prove that among all the voices we were right. The rest can tuck their tails and admit it. Vindicated at last!

Freedom is a term often associated with hope. Mankind longs to be free. Usually the focus is on "from" rather than "to". We want to be free from restrictions, addictions, afflictions, and predictions. Maybe religion will do it for us. Can we somehow get God to use His influence and power to rid us of those things that hinder our doing what we want when we want? Actually freedom is a result of hope—as are survival, escape, and vindication. But it is a freedom to be the image bearers of God on earth more than a freedom from the apparent obstacles to our personal desires. All of these previously mentioned aspects of hope are included in what is given to us as we are in Christ, but they are different than the natural mind can conceive.

The only hope that is capable of sustaining is the hope in God’s ultimate purpose. He will get that done and nothing can stop Him. If we can link our hopes to His hope we are secure. So what is His purpose? He intends to have a community on earth that reflects His image. He started with Adam and Eve. They were to be the beginning of the people who would represent Him on earth and subdue the creation. There would be a physical manifestation of the glory of God because His "image bearers" would be His instruments. After the fall of mankind, He started the process of redemption and restoration. That is the subject of the entire Bible.

This hope produces endurance: the ability to stay under the load and rejoice. It is a supernatural ability that is given to those in Christ. He showed us what it looked like when He endured the cross.

Because Jesus could see the divine purpose and because He was committed to it, He could go through the most difficult experience in history. Remember He became sin and was separated from the fellowship with the Father. No one has ever or could ever do that. In Jesus’ unique position He did more than any of us will ever be asked to do, but we have been given the same equipment that He had. He could see "through" the cross to the final result…the glory of the Father which included the redemption of creation.

When read properly, the Scriptures will give the divine perspective on history. The result will be hope. Too many times various scriptures are used by hope-deprived men to produce despair and fear. Often the Old Testament has become a confusing document. Some treat it as an instruction manual for daily living and have trouble discerning which parts pertain to them. They keep some of the laws but finally conclude that some others have been either fulfilled or disregarded. Others simply disregard the Old in favor of the New Testament. Their reasoning is that the latest and fullest is the best and the Old Testament is good for moral stories and illustrations, but all you need to know to become a better person is the New Testament. Paul saw the Scriptures (Old Testament for him) as building hope which builds endurance.

Since the Scriptures record history from God’s perspective (we believe in the divine inspiration of Scripture), we can see that He has been progressively revealing His purpose in the events of history. What began with a promise of a seed to Abraham became a nation in Israel, which was represented by King David, who was a type of the ultimate Israelite king—Jesus. The original community of the Godhead created the community of Adam and Eve. After the fall, the community of Abraham became the nation of Israel who became Jesus who called His people and established the final community on earth—the church. In this remarkable story of progressive revelation, we see a God so sovereign He can give man real choices and yet bring His plans to fruition on time. What seem like national tragedies become opportunities for His glory. Adam’s fall gave opportunity for mercy to be exposed. Israel’s captivity in Egypt was an occasion to reveal the power of God in deliverance. The Babylonian captivity gave an opportunity to prophesy the ultimate restoration of God’s people. The rejection of the Messiah by most of the Jews brought salvation to the Gentiles. The inclusion of the Gentiles gave rise to a healthy jealousy among Jews who saw the inheritance being enjoyed by Gentiles. Persecution by Jews and Romans gave birth to the first missionary movement of the early church.

There has been no choice of mankind throughout history that has stopped or delayed God’s original purpose. As His chosen people we have hope! Nothing will ever come into our lives beyond His scope. We are part of the drama of history which is being guided to a foreknown end. Our very existence as a community of faith is evidence that God will get done what He has purposed. We are what He had in mind when He promised Abraham that His seed would bless the world. In Christ we are the fruit of that Seed. Now it is our privilege to be the image bearers our original parents were created to be. Reconciled to God we can reflect to the yet unreached world what God really acts like. We can begin that by treating each other with the same dignity that He has given us. Our tenacious commitment to unity in the body will continue to make the hopeless jealous. Mankind cannot long survive without a sustainable hope. We of all the people who have ever lived have the best perspective that produces that hope.