"The Remaining Spark"

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:1-5 NIV).

I happened on an illustration that appeared in a publication promoting a transition ministry for people who have recently been released from prison in London. The painting showed a small child blowing on a dying ember with the following words written beneath: Perhaps there remains a spark! It certainly fits the ministry of this half-way house, but I would remind you that it also fits the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is this hope that we have been given that allows us to recognize victory in every trial.

I know that your first reaction might be that you haven’t been victorious over every trial. In fact, some of them might have knocked you done to your knees or worse. You may have been hurt in a way that you cannot possibly imagine any good coming from it. And, from my own experience I would agree with you in the short term. That’s where the rub really comes. We live so rooted in the present that it is extremely difficult to get past it to see how God could possibly bring victory in the future.

The story is told how one night at dinner a man, who had spent many summers in Maine, fascinated his companions by telling of his experiences in a little town named Flagstaff. The town was to be flooded, as part of a large lake for which a dam was being built. In the months before it was to be flooded, all improvements and repairs in the whole town were stopped. What was the use of painting a house if it were to be covered with water in six months? Why repair anything when the whole village was to be wiped out? So, week by week, the whole town became more and more bedraggled, more gone to seed, more woebegone. Then he added by way of explanation: "Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present." That’s the principle! We can manage to overcome the trials of the present because we know the outcome for the future.

I read the following from an unknown author recently: "Hope has something to offset every discouragement. It gathers the sunbeams from near and far and causes them to shine upon the pathway. It rings a bell of gladness in the dull ears of those who are struggling in the valley.” Hope… that’s the remaining spark!