Are you ready to give it to them?
How much hope do you have in your life? Perhaps you haven’t thought much about that before. What are the things that you hope for the most? Here in the West, we live pretty privileged lives. We don’t hope we’ll have dinner tonight or hope we’ll have a bed to sleep in. These are just things weexpect—that we perhaps take for granted.
Here’s another question: How much hope are you prepared to give? You are aware of people out in this world who are suffering horribly—leading hopeless lives. Have you ever thought about how much hope you are prepared to give them? Let’s make this more personal by examining the lives of a certain young group of people who desperately need hope.
Have you ever heard of a large group of teens and preteens fighting in Africa to topple a corrupt government army and to govern their land according to the Ten Commandments? The desire for such a rule sounds noble and just.
But it is not as simple as that. Actually, these children and teens are part of a ruthless militia, having been violently kidnapped and indoctrinated. Theirs is not a valiant freedom-fighter group, battling for the cause of the poor and oppressed. While fighting for an apparent byline of “rule by Ten Commandments,” this group throws every single commandment out the window in the process. The horrors that the young people in this group go through are nearly incomprehensible.
These are young people our age and younger who should be living a fun, educational, happy life—not toting around guns. Who shouldn’t be married at 12 years old. Who shouldn’t be abused no matter what side they are on. Who shouldn’t be in such a state of mind that they are able to tortureand kill other innocent human beings. Can we see the real nature of man (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 8:7) and that “the way of peace they know not” (Isaiah 59:8)?
How do we even begin to teach these people? The time is nearly here when they will be tugging at our clothes, begging to be taught (Zechariah 8:23). This has to be real to us. It is not pretend. It has to drive us to study the Word of God more deeply—to know it and be able to teach it inside and out. These are people who will need great comfort and love—because whatever love they had in their little hearts to begin with has been beaten out of them. Are we going to be ready to give it to them?
How well we know the Bible reveals the level of hope that we have in us (1 Peter 3:15). These people need so much hope. So keep up the study. Keep up the training. Pray for God to nurture thehope that is in you so you can pass it on to others and be a bright, burning light for the world to see (Matthew 5:14-16). And really be appreciative of the things you have. We are so blessed, especially here in the Western nations. We must never take even the small things in life for granted.
Let’s really put diligence into our calling. These people need our hope. And they will be seeking it very soon.
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