This Is the Reason for the Hope That I Have

My job, if I take the time to notice, continually reminds me of the fragility of life.

In the past week or so, two patients have stayed close to the surface of my memory.  The first, a middle-aged man who died suddenly and unexpectedly only hours after I first met him.

The second, a young girl not yet old enough to go to school, body weak and head bald from intense chemotherapy to kill off a fast-growing brain tumor.  Doctors don't put the odds of survival in her favor.

I took a coworker with me to this little girl's house, primarily because her home life is such that I did not feel safe going on my own.  After our visit, my coworker commented that seeing things like that "really makes you question your faith."

The conversation didn't go any farther than that, but I thought to myself how the opposite is true for me.  Seeing and experiencing hopeless and unfair and tough situations drives me closer to God, deeper in my faith.  To me, going through the trials of life without God seems worse than the trials themselves.

This day, Resurrection Sunday, is my most favorite day of the year.  There is a joy that fills my heart to overflowing when I stand up and sing praises to my risen King.  I get excited to be with my fellow believers and share this joy with them, because this faith we have is what binds us together as family.

Today, after a weekend of remembering the brutal death of Jesus on the cross, we celebrate His victory when He came back to life and conquered death once and for all.

You see, this is why I live.  When I see little girls with brain cancer and feel the pain that comes with life, this is what keeps me moving forward.  This is the reason I am able to get out of bed every morning, because truthfully, if not for this hope in Christ, I would find no purpose in life.

Because of what Jesus did for me and for you, I have an undying hope in His promises to come.  I know that when I die my life isn't over, but rather just beginning.  This whole life is just a single page in the book of eternity.  There is more to come, something greater, and that is the purpose for which I was created.