I’ve been reading this book lately about a Jewish psychologist, Viktor Frankl, who lived through the Holocaust[1]. He describes in the first section of the book his and his comrades experience in the concentration camps (particularly, Auschwitz). Before being sentenced to the camps, Frankl was a psychologist and psychiatrist in Germany. When World War II broke out, he (along with millions) were sent to the concentration camps throughout Europe. While in the concentration camps, Frankl (while doing his best to stay alive) would observe others around him, taking notes on why some found courage and fought to survive and others gave up.
What Frankl observed and soon learned, was that if one in the camp did not have something or someone in the future to look forward to - some form of hope - he soon gave up the desire and courage to live. If one did not have any hope, they would succumb to despair. Despair not only affected the person mentally, but also physically. Despair would impair the body’s immune system from fighting off sickness and disease that was rampant throughout the camp(s). Frankl believed hope was essential to one’s survival in the concentration camps, because it gave him an inner drive to persist through the disgusting, inhumane, harsh conditions of the camp(s), as well as help boost the body in fighting off physical sickness and disease[2]. And if man did not have some future goal - some hope in something - his only response was to dwell on the past memories and experiences of his life, eventually giving into despair – believing that the future had nothing good in store for him. It was those who had hope in something or someone that found the courage and strength to persist through the suffering and trials of the camp, and it was the absence of hope that kept others from persisting.
And this got me thinking…
Whether we are aware of it or not, and whether we want to admit it or not, there is something or someone we have hope in that drives us to keep living. There is a goal or aim we have in life that drives us and keeps us moving. In the harshest of conditions and in the midst of suffering, this is what keeps us fighting. For some, that drive is a new car, wealth, or fame. For others, it is a faith or belief. And still for some, it may be a relationship or a person. What/who our hope is in is shown by how we live our life – what we strive to attain, our ambitions in life, what brings us joy, where we spend our time, money, and resources, and what we get excited about. Many times what/who our hope is in is the thing we worship. It is the thing that we believe will bring us contentment, happiness, satisfaction, and fulfillment (even if we don’t consciously recognize it). And if our hope proves to be not what we expected, the effects can be deadly. People who commit suicide do so because they don’t believe things will get better. They have no hope for a better tomorrow. They are sure that things will always….be….this…way. For the person who puts there hope in a spouse/marriage, only to find out once they are married that the he or she they married isn’t superman or God, it can create bitterness and resentment towards the other.
Hope is powerful. Hope drives us. Hope energizes us. And when we have too little of it or none of it, the affects can be deadly. It’s what caused many to give up the fight for survival in the concentration camps and it’s why many of us give up on life today.
The Apostle Paul writes to some early Christians in the city of Colossae (modern day Turkey), that Jesus Christ is the hope of glory[3]. He also writes that this Jesus – the One they believe to be God and have put their trust in - lives in them. In fact, in many of Paul’s letters Hope is a common theme. In another letter to some Christians living in the city of Philippi (in Greece,), Paul writes that he presses on towards a goal – that he is in a race, striving to attain something he has not yet attained[4]. Paul still has a goal, a hope, an ambition – something he is striving to attain. For Paul, that hope is Christ.
If someone were to ask me why I am a Christian and why I believe that Jesus is God, I would tell them (among many other reasons, but this one being foremost) because of the Hope I have and feel in Jesus Christ. The hope I feel is so strong, tangible, and rooted in reality. It is not a hope that is far off, disconnected from the suffering and hurting world around me, but a hope that pushes me to love the people around me, help them, and do good to them. It is a hope that drives me to share with others a God who is gracious, good, and compassionate, slow to anger and abundant in love[5]. It is a hope that one day, God will completely restore and heal all suffering, brokenness, sorrow, and pain this world has. This hope creates in me a desire to show and tell others that God still loves all of us, even with our shortcoming, failures, mistakes, and inadequacies, and that God has not given up on or forsaken the world. And this hope, this Jesus, invites all to come to Him and to believe in Him and to follow Him and to join Him in restoring the world. This love, forgiveness, hope, grace, salvation, redemption, and invitation that Jesus extends to us, goes to all people - including you.
This hope gives me purpose and meaning. God loves you. Jesus loves you. May you come to know Him and to put your hope in Him[6].
So my question to you is this:
1.) – Do you have hope, and if so, what in? – or are you constantly dwelling on the past and recalling old memories, believing that the future is only going to get worse? (a sure sign that one has little or no hope at all).
[1] Man’s Search For Meaning, Viktor Frankl
[2] Frankl describes his experience in the concentration camps – things unimaginable and horrendous.
[3] Colossians 1:27
[4] Philippians 3:7-11
[5] Jonah 4:2; Psalm 145:8-9
[6] I would love to talk with you more about this if you would like J feel free to message me on facebook of email me at rlutherr@gmail.com
