I pray more often, but I also desire more. And what’s really amazing is that when you know you need to have more of God – because there really isn’t an alternative – to our surprise, there’s more of God to be had. And you say, why didn’t I find this before? And the answer is, you didn’t feel the same sense of need.
In your last book you wrote that our culture is going through a ‘crisis of hope’. Where do you find hope? What hope do you offer others?
If the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually took place, then God will eventually make everything right. The suffering will disappear. Evil will disappear. Death will disappear. Aging will disappear. Pancreatic cancer will disappear. If the resurrection of Jesus Christ did not happen then I think all bets are wrong. But if it really happened, then there’s all the hope in the world.
In JRR Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy-Stories,” he says there are indelible human desires that only fantasy, fairy tales, or sci-fi can do something about. He says that all people are fascinated by the idea of escaping time, escaping death, intercourse with other living beings, living long enough to fulfill your artistic and creative dreams, finding a love which heals perfectly. Tolkien says, why do we have those desires? And as a Christian, he thinks the reason is that we were not originally created by God to die.
Deep down, we all know that this is the way life should be, and when the resurrection of Jesus Christ takes place, then all of those things will literally come true for us.
That’s why you have this paradox. On the one hand, the resurrection is something very concrete to talk about, such as “What is the evidence for this historical event?” Probably the best book on the subject in the last 100 years is NT Wright’s book “The Resurrection of the Son of God”.
But when we get to the place where we accept it, then suddenly there’s no limit to what kind of things we can rejoice in. I know some of your readers are thinking, “I can’t believe anyone with more than a third degree education actually believes that.” But I do. And in the last few months, when we came into contact with these great parts of our faith, Kathy and I would both say that we have never been happier in our lives, even though I live in the shadow of cancer.
Comments are closed.