Our Only Hope
My wife and I have just returned from the annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention. Our church is a part of this convention, and each year I try to attend the annual meeting if I can. There are several reasons. First, we do business that is important. We have missionaries and ministries around our state which we support with our giving, and on occasion with our personal work.
Second, there are many opportunities to worship at this meeting. We sing, and several preachers will speak to us. It’s good for a preacher to hear other preachers on occasion. Quite frankly, it does a body good.
Third, there is always an area for “displays.” Different schools and ministries set up booths to show what they are doing, and how we might become a part of that. I will visit the booths of all three of my alma maters just to see what is happening these days. It doesn’t hurt that all of the displays have bowls filled with candy. I’m always up for a Hershey’s Kiss.
But the real reason I go to the convention is simple. I have the opportunity to visit with friends I don’t see throughout the year. Some were classmates in school. Some are fellow pastors, but we now live several miles apart. We often eat lunch together. It is a good time to catch up.
This year there will be a measure of sadness. One of my best friends in the ministry will not be there. He passed away from a massive heart attack earlier this year. The father of five, he was in his forties. I hope Tina and I will see his widow and their children there. But I’m not sure.
My sadness at losing my friend is tempered by this one truth. I believe in the resurrection. I believe Jesus was raised from the dead, and I believe that everyone of His children will be raised as well. That’s my only hope. Paul wrote, “If in this life only we have hope we are the most pitiable of all.” But then he wrote, “But indeed Christ has been raised from the dead.” In a world filled with sin and sorrow, that is our hope. It is our only hope. I hope that is your hope as well.
