Lead Article November 24, 2014 Issue

Living the Bible’s message of hope

Margarita Sandelmann Thatcher

The word expectation is related to the lively concept of hope. Not just wishful thinking, or even hesitant optimism, but the kind of hope Jesus’ disciple Peter speaks of: “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (I Peter 3:15).

We are always expecting something, but too often our expectations are negative—fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear that we won’t have the resources we need. Then there is that humorous yet demoralizing attitude called Murphy’s Law: “If anything can go wrong, it will!” Sometimes we find it clever and join in the general laughter, but this so-called law promotes the expectation of evil.

And frequently we’ll hear someone exclaim, “Oh, it’s too good to be true!” But in fact, only good can be true. God is infinite good, and His unalterable law of good is in operation for all of His creation, including you and me.

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