Two days ago, we talked about the difference between “optimism” and “worldly hope”, and we took it a step further by analyzing the difference between “worldly hope” and the Christian virtue of hope.
When we are young, with fewer burdens and pressures in life, facing life with an optimistic attitude is usually enough. But as we grow older and take on more responsibilities and heavier burdens, we need hope to give us the strength to face life positively. When we encounter life’s adversities, or when our bodies begin to weaken but our burdens don’t lighten, we can no longer rely on our own strength alone. At such times, it is the virtue of hope that reveals its greatest power. You could say that optimism depends purely on favourable external conditions, hope relies on our own strength, and the theological virtue of hope relies on the power of God.
Let’s also look at this from the perspective of the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and love. Although faith is the foundation for both hope and love, and love is the greatest of the three, in our daily lives, especially in times of adversity and suffering, when we’re gritting our teeth to endure, hope becomes the most crucial. When hope is extinguished, no matter how strong our faith may be, our love will also begin to grow cold. It’s not an exaggeration to say that hope propels faith and love forward. Hope links faith and love, energizes faith, and brings it to life through acts of love.
When we understand what the virtue of hope truly is, we can begin to expose the devil’s schemes. Over the past few decades, the devil has relentlessly attacked Christianity, putting our faith to a severe test. As a result, our faith has become difficult to pass on to the next generation, and even among mature believers, the fire of faith has started to burn low. Without a solid foundation of faith, both hope and love cannot grow in a healthy way.
The devil’s next strategy is to go after our already shaky foundation of hope, launching an all-out offensive. Our enemy attacks from many fronts. For example, it promotes individualism to overturn the teachings and truth of Christ, undermines our trust in God, and as a result, weakens the mutual trust between people and between nations. It then leads to all kinds of conflicts and divisions, plunging the world into chaos and even causing wars to destroy human hope, bringing depression, anxiety and even despair to individuals and society...In a world descending into such darkness, there’s no room left for love to grow or show its power.
Therefore, we have good reason to believe that if we lose the fortress of hope, even if the world doesn’t erupt into a world war, mankind will eventually destroy itself. That’s why the Church, in this Jubilee Year, is calling us to be “Pilgrims of Hope”, a call that turns out to carry deep meaning and is prophetic!
Therefore, we also have reason to believe that the devil’s ultimate goal is to attack God by attacking humanity in this faithless age. The devil is pulling out all the stops in this dark era and in the end times. It wants us to believe that Christian hope is unimportant, and it tries to replace it with mere optimism or worldly hopes, diluting the true spirit of the theological virtue of hope.
So, if we have only a superficial understanding of the virtue of hope, or if we don’t think it’s necessary to strengthen our own hope, then we will fall into the devil’s trap. Not only are we blindly walking into its snare, but we’re also unknowingly “joining” its army and becoming promoters of despair rather than bearers of hope.
Reflection
Do you have a clear understanding of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, and how they relate to each other? Has today’s reflection helped deepen your understanding?
Do you believe your faith is built on a solid foundation? Do you have many doubts or questions about your faith or about the God you believe in? Has today’s reflection brought you any new awareness?
Has your understanding of the virtue of hope been superficial? Take a moment of silence to examine the importance of hope in your life and how the Holy Spirit may be inviting you to deepen it.
Today’s Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for once again giving me the opportunity to reflect on my faith, especially on the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.
Today I realize that I had thought my faith was already strong, but it turned out that it was because I did not seriously and deeply reflect on my faith, or I was deceived by the devil and thought that there was nothing wrong with me and that I was pretty good.
Thank You for bringing me into my own wilderness today, where I can face myself honestly, and more importantly, face You, to reposition my life and faith, to re-examine and strengthen my faith and hope. This helps me to redefine the purpose of my life and become a pilgrim of hope with direction.
Abba Father, today I come before You with a repentant heart, confessing my lack of seriousness toward my faith and toward You. Please forgive me!
Please help my unbelief and strengthen my hope in You, so I won’t be led astray by the enemy and drift away from You. Please open my eyes once again so that in the days to come, I may remain steadfast in You and renew my love for You each day.
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Fundraising Appeal
Thank you for participating in this 40-day Lenten spiritual journey. We hope you have been inspired and have benefitted from it! For the spiritual benefit of all of you, Fountain of Love and Life devotes a lot of time and effort in producing various spiritual projects every year, and all our ministries are sustained by the generous donations of our supporters. We hope you will support us with prayers and donations. Please make an online donation using the button at the top of the website Lent.FLL.cc. Thank you very much for your support. God bless!
The following is the “Farmer of Hearts: Finding Hope in God’s Kingdom” team, including FLL staff and volunteers.
Please kindly pray for them. May God protect them and sustain their physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Writer: Paul Yeung
Project Manager: Michael Lam, Rosa Tse
Editors: Bonny Chan, Rosa Tse
English Editors: Bonny Chan, Paul Yeung
Mandarin Editor: Anthony X.
Cantonese Narrator: Margaret Woo
English Narrator: J. Johnson
Mandarin Narrator: C. Zhou
Audio Editors: Cyan Cheung, Sander Lee, Margaret Woo
YouTube Editors: Arnold Chan, Cyan Cheung, Sander Lee
Graphics: Francis Lai, Carmen Tsang, Rosa Tse
Website: Patricia Young, Angela Wong
Podcast: Angela Wong
Social Media: Yollie Leung, Carmen Tsang, Rosa Tse
Theme Music:
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“Sea of Memory” by Aakash Gandhi https://www.youtube.com/@88keystoeuphoria