Most of us would rather have hope, yet every single evening, we turn on the ten o’clock news on Facebook or television or any news feed, for a dose of despair before we go to bed. Most of us think the ten o’clock news is keeping us informed about the world. Most of us think the Bible has nothing to offer but words about people long ago and far away. Many of us are almost afraid of the word “God.”

When I am at a community sale with my books, I watch people step forward and pick up one of my novels because the cover has caught their eye. They turn the book over and to read the write-up on the back about the story within. As soon as they get to the second last sentence that includes the word “God,” they set the book down as if might burn their hands and walk away.

Society has become convinced that God, Christians and God’s book, the Bible, are boring, irrelevant and even dangerous. For sure, there are some fundamentalist Christians, like those who advocate simple solutions to every problem, that are boring, irrelevant and dangerous. It’s easy to “tar everyone with the same brush.” Most of the Christians I know are caring, fun-loving, and helpful. Why? Because we spend time with the “Good News”. We want to be influenced by God’s Word. We are filled with hope. We believe that God is good. We believe that every one is precious and lovable and God’s child. We believe we are never alone. God is with us.

We believe and we look for, the goodness that already exists in this world. We believe God works through all of us to add to that goodness. We are sure that with God, we can some day bring to an end all violence, all hunger, all poverty. That is God’s plan and we have joined with God. That is our faith. We  have chosen hope. Which do you choose??