In the blog post before this one, I pointed out that there are many ups and downs in Homewood. Progress seems to be made, and then destructive forces seem to take over. If I view all of this through my own eyes and try to work toward transformation through my own effort, then everything in the inner city seems too overwhelming. The issues are too complex, and I lose hope under those circumstances. Yet, I still have hope. Why is that?
The answer sounds simple, but God gives me hope. No matter what the circumstances are like in my neighborhood, there is always hope that God will move in amazing ways to bring about transformation of people and places. In To Live in Peace, Mark Gornik writes, "There is always a choice, both spiritual and political, to reverse the continuing ruination, depletion, and exploitation of our cities and those who seek its shelter. Our urban ruins and new urban forms invite us to neither the despair of destruction nor the optimism of progress but to the genuine hope of redemption - hope based on renewing our imaginations with the vision and patterns of life that reflect the new creation of God. Christian hope is grounded in the death and resurrection of Christ, not the faded dreams of an age simultaneously winding down and rewinding. The Christian faith thus seeks to grapple honestly with the presence of suffering and the possibility of new beginnings for all of humanity and creation. For in the Crucified and Risen 'all things' are transfigured, and the city is an object of divine grace no less than any other aspect of the creation. This is the deep structure upon which hope rests."
And so, that is the approach that I hope to have in Homewood: grappling honestly with the presence of suffering and the possibility of new beginnings. I am only in Homewood because God put me here, and I should not get too caught up in results or set backs. My life is simply an act of obedience lived out before a God who wants to work through me to achieve his purposes.
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