The Definition of HOPE

The word hope in the English language has become kind of like the word love: it has the capacity to mean so much more than the way we use it.

Example: I hope the caf has bacon today.
Translation: I really want the caf to have bacon today. I wish the caf would have bacon today. Fingers crossed!

Now, that example is a very real desire of mine every time I eat breakfast in the caf. But as I've been pondering the word hope, I've come to realize that we've been misusing it.

Ron Benefiel, my Life of Holiness (Christian general ed class) professor, speaks of Christian hope as being focused on the end result - the return of Christ. We are not wishing for things to get better in our lives when we say that we have hope. We are focusing on the end result. We are focusing on the belief that one day, whether it be in our lifetime or not, Christ will reign on earth and restore this horrible place to a place of His kingdom.

I claim that one of my favorite verses is Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and believing in what we cannot see." Taking in the Christian's definition of hope then, this verse is not saying faith is being sure of what we wish for. It is saying faith is being sure of Christ's return and the Kingdom of Heaven coming to earth to restore all things.

And here is where Ivan Karamazov comes in. Currently, I'm reading The Brothers Karamazov in my continental lit class. In the novel Ivan asks his brother Alyosha how he can accept a God that allows the torture and abuse of children. The bad outweighs the good for Ivan, and so he tells God that he respectfully returns his ticket. He believes in God and recognizes that God gives humanity life, but Ivan cannot accept God because of the horrors of humanity.

So I have this hope. The Kingdom of God is at hand. But, as Ivan asks, what about the children? What about the horrors of humanity? What are we to do until then? How can I be so sure that the good outweighs the bad in the end?

Now, I know all the "right" answers to these questions. So please, don't try to answer them for me. I'm just still in the process of accepting those answers. I haven't yet given up my ticket.