Hope Arising!
Escaping the Prison of Cynicism
Hope Arising! The optimism of hope is about to spring from a fresh generation of fathers and mothers. The incomprehensible blessing they will be to the earth is beyond our ability to calculate. But how will we know them? While many attributes distinguish gifted young men and women from their more mature counterparts, having hope, which means the absence of malignant cynicism, is central. Many are emerging from the wilderness of cynicism to take their place in the Kingdom of God.
Cynicism and Hope
Caustic cynicism is a destructive and isolating force which will deter us from this destiny. At the core of cynicism is hopelessness. Hopelessness becomes directed toward others, suspecting all are motivated by nothing more than self-interest. It cannot but spawn divisiveness as it gives life to a wave of mistrusting tribalism. Paralyzing pessimism paints wide swaths of the church as unwilling to change and incorrigibly corrupt.
Detachment and withdrawal follow as disillusionment deepens.
In juxtaposition, our Father is defined by vision and hope. He not only cheers as we move forward, He actively celebrates our victories, even though they may be as yet unseen! Assuredly expecting we will transcend every obstacle is His natural bent. He is gloriously, painfully optimistic, unwilling to add a weight of unbelief to our shoulders but is instead a continuous wind at our backs. He is the love that believes in all things! Consequently, He is the polar opposite of the war-weary pessimist.
As a new believer, I sadly discovered that the ‘war-weary pessimist’ was all too common however, repulsed by their skeptical view of the immature I determined to never become like them. Little did I realize it was a far more formidable challenge than I could have imagined.
Our tendency to become disillusioned cannot be casually dismissed. Even the Apostle Paul realized this, declaring with a tone of disappointment, “all seek their own and not the things which are of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:21). Maintaining our hope can be challenging. Like a general going to war who finds his troops to be wounded, weak and untrained, mustering hope is not easy once you have the complete picture. Optimism is only easy if you have not actually been confronted with the reality of an ill-prepared army.
The point is this: God is intimately acquainted with the army and is nevertheless fully assured of what He can do through them. He is looking to replicate fathers who share that confidence.
