Kristen Lunceford
I recently saw a question posted by an atheist, “What is it that I am missing out on in not having a relationship with God?” I’m not sure if the question was a sincere question or just one to get some conversation going, but either way, he wanted to know what it was in life that made it so beneficial in having a faith. What did it provide people?
Besides the obvious answer of “salvation”, I wondered what my own answer would be? To someone who thought salvation wasn’t even a thing, I wondered…what is it that I believe they are missing out on? It didn’t take long before I was able to pinpoint something that I believe has been critical at times in my life; something that without it, I wouldn’t have been able to continue…I would have been overcome.
Hope.
See, everyone experiences times of desperation, times of complete darkness, loneliness, and pain; and for anyone who has experienced those moments for an extended period of time, it is difficult not to be overcome by it. In fact, many are which is why suicide rates are so high. The pain is too much, the rejection is too real, and the way out feels non-existent. There is no hope. There is no light in the darkness. There is no way through. Even more so, there is no purpose. We are sentenced to a life of pain with no way through and no purpose in it…we just have to be strong enough to endure until the darkness somehow ceases…if it does.
With Christ, everything is flipped. Is there Darkness? Yes. Is there Pain? Yes. Can it be for an extended time? Yes. So, what’s the difference? In a life with Him or without Him, it seems that there is still a call to suffering. So why is life any better with Christ? In1 Peter 5:10, Peter says, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, (emphasis added) will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.” With Christ, there is purpose to suffering. There is meaning. And if there is meaning, then there is hope that perhaps all the darkness will eventually have an end…it will have fulfilled its purpose, and life can begin again. Instead of being overcome, we can overcome. The problem is that we tend to want it done in our way, and in our time. It just doesn’t work like that. Hope has a time frame of its own. But it’s there. It’s working. It’s progressing.
Isaiah tells the Israelites that after their own call to suffering, there will still be hope available for those who choose it:
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31. What is Isaiah’s purpose in saying this to them? He knows they are about to suffer…what good does it do? Again, I believe Isaiah wants his people to hang on to the idea that their suffering has purpose and meaning. And with the purpose comes the fulfillment of that purpose. There is an end. Something far greater is coming.
I think that’s why so many people post this verse…even people who aren’t serious about their faith. People are craving hope. People want to believe that somewhere, something or someone, has good intended for them. They want to believe there is something greater than the suffering they are feeling now. They need to know that…their life is dependent on it. Otherwise, the darkness wins. It overcomes. There is no joy.
So, in answer to the atheist’s question, my thought is simple, yet it’s everything. Hope. Hope brings life when we are craving death. Hope keeps us holding on, when all we want to do is let go. With hope, we win. I’ll choose hope any day and every day.
Kristen
