Looking to the Future is a Sign of Everlasting Hope

A Synopsis on Psalm 23.

Speak the words to yourself and find the meaning of hope when David recited a theme that never goes out of style. This prose of affirmation is at the heart of God that leaves no doubt about his genuine love for his creation of seekers of a living promise.

The Lord is my Shepherd and with him there is nothing I will not have. Look at the sheep who graze in pastures of serenity with all the safety under their shepherd.

As the tenure of the world’s inference appears to dissuade the sheep the shepherd steps in and leads the wolves away by his guidance and refreshes their dry fears. Through this protection the sheep gather strength and courage because they know their leader is watching over them.

Through the goodness and love of their Father in heaven the children of God will always follow him all the days of our lives. And we shall dwell for years to come in the house of the Lord.

Somehow, the words of the 23rd Psalm have reached into the souls of God’s children invoking confidence to those caught in the realm of evil that has made its way into society’s grip on innocence. Without reiteration of what has risen from the ashes of humanity is frightening and enough cause for everyone to find their way back to God. What has happened to people who say they believe in God and ask for righteousness to become reinstated but have fallen away from their confidence in Christ’s Passion which is what the Birth of Christ was all about?

For those who are well into their baptismal ideals are already living in a way that says a lot about the words of the 23rd Psalm.

There is a very deep understanding when we speak of the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love. If we lose or misplace the virtue of faith our task of reaching the grace of God becomes a struggle since the grace of God seems to be a far-away practicality. When we lose all of the virtues, love becomes a disbelief in what God is about. But when we lose the virtue of hope we will lose all adherence to believe in what lies ahead for our present future of succeeding in faith and grasping what love means in relationship with each other and God. Without hope there is no reason to look to an eternal life with God since the trek of a future no longer holds water and seems to wash away with the flow of a storm.

Hope is confidence in the shepherd who continues to watch over us. “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me; just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.” (Jn 10: 11, 14 - 15). This is the hope realized on Good Friday that will bring us as one flock into eternal existence as the sheep being accepted as God’s children.

Ralph B. Hathaway