Lately, the idea of "hope" has been on my mind a lot. What does hope mean? As a noun, it is described as the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. Likewise, as a verb it means to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. In this life, what do we hope for? As a car crazed teenager, I constantly hoped that Ford would engineer a Mustang that would put the rest to shame. With the beginning of every sports season I hoped that my team would be able to hang a banner of uncompromised victory at the conclusion of the year. Typical things for a teenage boy? Fair enough.
Now as a missionary, understandably, my life has changed. The topics of contemplation and subjects of serious thought have moved to a much weightier subject: Hope for my salvation.
Hope is the driving factor that pulls us through the darkest days of mortality. In the six months that I have been a missionary, it hasn't always been peaches and cream. Far from it on occasion. But the hope that it is not in vain and something good will come shortly has helped pull me through. We must hope that because of Jesus Christ's atonement we can receive a remission of our sins. With every leap of faith we make we have to be hoping that something good will come from it. At the end of the long hallway of life, there must needs be a hope that therein lies eternal life, if we have been faithful. Hope for this, the greatest of all of God's gifts, is so vital. My friends, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of hope. No matter what kind of curveball or fastball life throws at you, if we have hope, we can slug right through it for a base hit. I guess I really didn't realize how important hope is until I came on a mission and put myself subject to such adversity. And now it plays an astronomical part of my work as a disciple of Christ.
Never forget where we are going in this life. Always look at the end result. Once we have done all that we have been commanded by our Father in Heaven to do, press forward and have a hope for the promised gift: Eternal life.
Never lose hope. For, once it is lost, we lose. I love you all. Stay classy.
Elder Hill
Now as a missionary, understandably, my life has changed. The topics of contemplation and subjects of serious thought have moved to a much weightier subject: Hope for my salvation.
Hope is the driving factor that pulls us through the darkest days of mortality. In the six months that I have been a missionary, it hasn't always been peaches and cream. Far from it on occasion. But the hope that it is not in vain and something good will come shortly has helped pull me through. We must hope that because of Jesus Christ's atonement we can receive a remission of our sins. With every leap of faith we make we have to be hoping that something good will come from it. At the end of the long hallway of life, there must needs be a hope that therein lies eternal life, if we have been faithful. Hope for this, the greatest of all of God's gifts, is so vital. My friends, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of hope. No matter what kind of curveball or fastball life throws at you, if we have hope, we can slug right through it for a base hit. I guess I really didn't realize how important hope is until I came on a mission and put myself subject to such adversity. And now it plays an astronomical part of my work as a disciple of Christ.
Never forget where we are going in this life. Always look at the end result. Once we have done all that we have been commanded by our Father in Heaven to do, press forward and have a hope for the promised gift: Eternal life.
Never lose hope. For, once it is lost, we lose. I love you all. Stay classy.
Elder Hill
No comments:
Post a Comment