In this chapter, Plantinga introduces the book with the topic of longing and hope. It discusses how we each have longings and desires: to be accepted, to be loved, to revisit the past, and more. But "the truth is nothing in this earth can finally satisfy us. Much can make us content for a time, but nothing can fill us to the brim." Also, when boiled down, all our desires point to God. Thus, we will only be satisfied or "filled to the brim" when we are united with God in Heaven. Also, this subject of longing relates to hope. Plantinga tells us that "longing is an ingredient of hope." These go hand in hand because we hope for the things we long for. One of things we as Christians hope for is shalom. Shalom translates as "peace," but it extends beyond our basic understanding of the word. It is like a world where everything is the way God intended it to be, full of love and harmony. We long for this kind of world, and therefore our Christian hope lies in Jesus, through whom God will reconcile the world to Himself.
I think it is especially interesting to note how many of his ideas include C.S. Lewis as a reference. I consider myself fortunate to be in a class where the required material matches up so well with the topic of the class. I also enjoyed reading this chapter because of its numerous striking quotes. One of my favorites was "Faith without works is dead (James 2:17), and the same goes for hope. Without costly action, hope can soften into sentimentality. With costly action, hope may harden into reality." This is a really fascinating idea that I have never encountered before. I think it is a helpful reminder that in order to really make a change you need to do more than dream. It is important to try to turn your hope into something real and tangible. And if we can make our hope into something more, we can work towards and catch glimpses of the shalom God calls us to.
I also really like all of the interesting over laps between C.S. Lewis and the Plantinga book. It is so true that hope requires costly action. James 2:17 applies so well here even though it is about faith. Without action hope is nothing but sentimentality and a lack of action can very often leave people without hope.
ReplyDeleteI like how you emphasized the importance of hope accompanied by action. We are the hands and feet of the lord, right? So we should go out and spread the love, peace, and salvation we know of. It's just sad, though, that we are so lazy and often don't. But we can't do it by ourselves. You're so right in saying "we" need to work together to bring shalom to the world.
ReplyDelete