MUTUAL LOVE SERIES – “Infinite hope” (08/16/2025)

Martin Luther King Jr. played an important role in my formation as an American and Christian. His “I have a dream” speech powerfully spoke the truth with hope. His prophetically non-violent fight for the freedom of others called a nation to righteousness. He was a man of hope who wisely said “We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.”

When I think of hope, the image that comes to mind is from my own experience and would probably amaze or confuse some; it is a working cancer center. When one enters in, one is instantly aware that those present are in the midst of a struggle no one welcomes, but it isn’t a place of doom and gloom. The staff’s kindness isn’t wasted on the patients, and the patients’ resiliency in spite of the afflictions of cancer and the suffering brought on by treatments isn’t missed by the staff.

If I had to pick a place where Romans 12:12, one of Paul’s duties of Christians, is lived out loud, I would pick a cancer center. “Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.” I guarantee you that there is an inordinate amount of hope in the halls of the cancer center: hope for a better future, hopefully here, but if not here, where hope reigns. And I assure you that those present are enduring affliction as best they can. And I promise you that the patients, their family and friends, and the staff are all praying along the way.

This is one of my favorite parts of Paul’s list of duties of Christians in Romans 12 because it reminds us that life with Christ on “the way” isn’t easy. One only has to look at the most familiar of all images of Christ, that of the crucifix, to realize that “the way” isn’t easy. All life this side of the sod will inevitably involve suffering at some level, but it is bookended with the joy of hope and the trust in a LORD who hears our prayers; with these two gifts, we can endure our afflictions.

As we go forward on our spiritual journeys, let us take time to check our joy levels. We’re here, we’re not alone, the LORD is with us always, and what’s more, we are joined by our sisters and brothers and united in the hope of life in abundance. Our joy levels should be high. And let us take time to check our tolerances for afflictions that will come and our willingness to endure them realizing that suffering is a part of this journey. And finally, let us check our prayer levels making sure they are adequate for the journey. It is that tank which will guarantee that we have the infinite hope that produces the joy we need to make the journey.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.