Hope

Hope

As you know, I used to work with disturbed children and one day a man came up to me and asked me if there was hope for one of the children that I worked with. I answered that there was always hope. You see, I am a true believer in two things: love and hope. They are the only things worth fighting and dying for…

C.S. Lewis once wrote that the hardest thing for some of us to do is to “get on the bus.” (From The Great Divorce). He was writing about a fictional line of souls waiting for the bus that would take them to Heaven. Some of the people stepped right up and got on the bus, while others stood there at the bus stop enveloped by the torment of indecision. I can picture it in my head and as a matter of fact, I think that we all see it every day. In their heads squirming like snakes through their hearts and souls, they might wonder: “Will God forgive me my trespasses? “Could grace and redemption be extended to me?” “What if he doesn’t find me worthy?” “The pain and nonacceptance would be too much for me to bear!”

When you think about it, the only thing holding them back from what they most desired was their own fear. What if someone was there to ease their journey? What if that person stretched out a hand and said, “Follow me, it will be alright?” Would the tormented soul, find the courage to grasp that hand and be led onto the bus? I think that some would, and others would not.

The key to redemption, grace, and love, is to believe that you are lovable and worthy of grace, love and redemption.  Finally, “What if rejoining the beautiful energy that created us all was as simple and complex as grasping the hand that reaches out to save us or taking that first step to board the bus? Would you and could you, do it? Do you believe in your own innate worthiness?

The bus is waiting…and maybe, just maybe, Hell is the everlasting torment of indecisiveness.