There is Hope, You Are Loved

Sometimes the world feels like a dark, scary place. You worry about things and wonder where your life is headed. It is sometimes hard to have a positive outlook. But light has overcome darkness, there is a positive outlook, and there is hope.

In the Bible there is a small book, a letter written by Paul, to an early Jesus follower named Titus. It was written as an encouragement to have hope and celebrate what God has done. It starts like this:
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:4-7).”

Here are the highlights:

• God is kind and loves us.
• God saved us because He is merciful, not because we did anything to earn His favor or our salvation. In fact, a well-known Bible teacher, Charles Spurgeon describes it this way, “God loved us before we loved Him; He sought us when we were fleeing from Him." It is God’s free gift to us.
• Our lives are transformed and then empowered by the Holy Spirit. That power in ongoing for us each day.
• This makes us His children, His heirs, His family.
• This gives us hope beyond all other hope!

Paul continues by saying that he wants Titus to be an encourager to other believers. Further, he wants them to step into this new life and hope that they have been given and to let their lives reflect God’s love to others by doing what is good and beneficial to others. Like God, we are encouraged to be kind and loving!
This is a message of hope and transformation. It reminds us that we are not defined by our past mistakes, but by the love and mercy of a gracious God. It's a call to live a life that reflects this incredible gift, a life overflowing with love and doing good for others that serves as an example of the transformative power of God's love.

This message of hope is beautifully summarized in the words of this song Great Are You Lord by a group called All Sons and Daughters (an appropriate name, right?!):

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken
And great are You, Lord
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only
All the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord
All the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord
© 2012 Open Hands Music, So Essential Tunes, Integrity's Praise! Music, Little Way Creative

You can watch a video of this song here: