We Are God’s Hope for the World

By Karen Hochman

The summer is over. The start of school and the return to scheduled activities brings a feeling of comfortable routine back to all of us. “Normalcy.” Now that’s a relative thing.

Life in our world has been anything but normal lately. When you consider the imminent change of power in Cuba and the recent new threat of terrorism in the sky and of course the war between Israel and Lebanon that has precariously paused due to a cease fire agreement . . . not to mention our ongoing engagement in Iraq. But when does the abnormal become normal? Is there a point in time when we expect nothing but turmoil in our world? Do we begin to expect the worst of the world around us? Does it become a self-fulfilling prophecy?

How do we as Christians remain positive in this world? How do we reflect the light of Christ? How do we keep from feeling overwhelmed by the need of the poor, the sick, and the displaced? How indeed do we overcome the hatred that seems to prevail between cultures?

By looking to Christ and remembering that God loves ALL of us and not just a certain finite group. Through faith, we can be certain that what we do each day, if done in faith and love, will ripple out into our world as a pebble thrown into a pond to be used by God and multiplied. By prayer, we can acknowledge that God indeed is in control of our world and that we are only able to see a small portion of what is about us. By looking into the eyes of the strangers we meet in our own lives each day and responding to them in a kind and loving way, we can give hope to our tired world.

We are God’s hope for this world. It is through us that he will accomplish and demonstrate his infinite love. He will use our imperfect selves to His glory. Take a minute and think about how you can make a difference. Pray about it. Be God’s people.

Karen Hochman is a member of Wesley United Methodist Church, South Plainfield, N. J. and writes a column, Meditations of a Church Mouse, for the church’s news letter. Describing her column, she says, “It was written in response to a calling I experienced after attending a church retreat. No one suggested I start writing, I just felt I needed to share my faith and life experience with those in my congregation.” Her work has been well received and we are pleased to share it with the world in Relay Reflections.

Greater New Jersey Annual Conference