Christian hope rests upon the fact not that evil can be ignored, or that it will simply fade away, but that it has been judged at the cross. – David Wells 

In recent years one of the most searched terms on Google has been hope. It’s outpaced searches for political upheavals, technological breakthroughs, and even the ever-popular “how to make money online.” If Google is the oracle of our collective consciousness, we’re not just looking for the best latte near us, we’re looking for something deeper, more meaningful. 

But what does it all mean? Are people feeling more hopeful or frantically grasping for it? The data doesn’t tell us whether we’re inspired or empty-handed, only that we’re looking for meaning in a crisis-ridden age. This ongoing trend suggests that it’s a constant, underlying hum of uncertainty. The story seems more like a desire for something bigger, steadier, and more trustworthy than the shifting realities of contemporary life.

Isn’t it wonderful that if you’re a Christ-follower, there’s always hope, but not in us…it’s in Jesus Christ and the transformation of salvation. Rick Warren reminds us that evangelism, completing a search and rescue mission, is one of the main reasons God keeps Christians here on this earth. 

Think of it this way. Heaven is perfect. Earth is not. It’s full of problems, trials, sin, pain and temptation. Wouldn’t it make sense for our Heavenly Father to take us away from this fallen world, just beam us up to Heaven the moment we respond to His love and become a Christ-follower?

To answer this dilemma Warren points to the fact that there are only two things we can’t do in Heaven—SIN (Amen!) and share with others who don’t know the Good News of God’s love. Which of these two things do you think God keeps us here on earth to do? Obviously, it’s not to sin. 

The reason God keeps us here after we come to Christ is because He wants us to share His Good News with people who haven’t heard or accepted it yet. God wants us to tell all those that we can what He has done for us and what He wants to do for them so that more and more will respond to His love by giving their lives to Jesus. 

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. When He left this world He gave us the responsibility of continuing His mission. Every Christ-follower is enlisted in God’s search and rescue mission. God wants us and commands us to share His hope. Colossians 1:27 says, To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Hope, true hope, is the greatest gift we can share with our hopeless, lost world…with our families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.  

This world can only offer solutions that are like aspirin when the only hope for the patient is a heart transplant. Recently, I shared with a friend that when I was in high school, I was nearly an alcoholic. My future was dismal, but Jesus transformed my heart. All around us are individuals whose lives were transformed by committing their lives to Christ. 

Think of some of the worst people in our culture. So, do you think there’s hope for a prostitute? Yes, there’s hope in Jesus for anyone and everyone. Author, Barbara Johnson, shares this wonderful account. She writes:

I had just finished speaking at one of the last Women of Faith (WOF) conferences, challenging the audience to think “What Would Jesus Do?” in their everyday situations. One way I apply the WWJD principle in my life is by distributing buttons inscribed SOMEONE JESUS LOVES HAS AIDS. 

A moment after leaving the auditorium, that button would speak volumes. Running to grab a bite before heading to my book table, the WOF director, Christie Barnes, headed me off. Her eyes were big, and she was talking fast. A prostitute, hiding from her pimp, was upstairs threatening suicide. She insisted on talking to me! For a moment, I thought, Why me? But I quickly gathered five women to come with me to the locker room where the prostitute had been taken. A suicide unit, emergency personnel, and police were on their way. Christie filled me in as we walked, concluding with the fact that the prostitute had full-blown AIDS. How will the other women react? I thought. I’m sure they’ve never been near a prostitute, let alone one with AIDS!”

She was about 35 years old, dirty, and smelly from sleeping in a dumpster. Her pimp was trying to kill her because she wanted to stop turning tricks. The jagged scar on her face and the bullet hole in her leg was evidence of that. The first thing I did was give her the button. As she held it tightly, we talked about how Jesus could give her a new heart and life. Within minutes, she was praying to accept Christ as Savior. 

Now began the real WWJD action. One woman scrambled to get soap, shampoo, and towels. Another ran upstairs to grab a WOF t-shirt and sweatshirt from the booth. As everyone disappeared, I sat her on a stool in the shower to start cleaning her up, but then I saw a fresh gaping wound down her chest. “We need to get you a doctor,” I said. “No,” she insisted. “I just need to get out of town.” By the time we were done, enough money had been scraped together for a bus ticket out of town. 

My helpers gathered around us and we prayed. Their genuine love for this prostitute brought tears to my eyes. She was now in a win-win situation. If her pimp caught her and killed her, she’d be safe in the arms of Jesus. If she made it to her family in Chicago, God was giving her a brand-new start. Either way she was a winner! Someone called a taxi. “Wait!” she said. “The button!”

Pulling her filthy shirt out of the trash, she removed the button. Proudly, she pinned it on her clean sweatshirt. We ran outside to catch the cab. Before she rolled up the window, I gave her one last hug. If you get to heaven before you get to Chicago, you can polish the pearly gates for me.

I want to change my world, don’t you? Every Christ-follower can! Share Jesus! Share the gospel! Let’s work together to populate heaven! Jesus is the only hope for our hopeless world!

Yes, Christ-followers look forward to going Home. Yet, what makes heaven sweeter is that it will be the greatest family reunion of all time. We long more for heaven when we know that those who had no hope will be there because we shared Jesus with them, like that prostitute, and they’re forgiven and made into the likeness of Jesus Christ. That’s true hope!