No news is good news goes the old maxim. Maybe it is true. I’ve spent the last two days in a much smaller world. Catching up on the news tonight I’ve been struck by how hopeless everything feels. There is so much to comment on, but maybe the most important comment is this. There is hope.
I have hope in Jesus, in my ongoing struggles with doubt I cannot help but understand how truly broken the world is, how broken I am, and the need for redemption. This is primary for me, without it any hope is as useless as the universe.
But there are other causes for hope. Being welcomed into the home of a stranger when you’ve gotten the car stuck in a deserted corner of Nova Scotia. How could I describe the beauty of someone agreeing to take me and the woman I love in for an hour to await a distant tow-truck.
I find myself questioning my conception of our inherent evil. Humanity is broken, but in a strange way. We see dimly, and the vague impressions give us hope for a day when our sight will be restored. Sometimes we take in the stranger, other times we watch them freeze outside.
What a start to my morning. I’m sitting here at the Evolving Church conference perusing blogs when I come across what I’m sure is the best blog coming out of Nova Scotia these days.
Why is it that no news is good news though?
Is ignorance truly bliss? Are we responsible to become informed on what is happening in our worlds? How do we look through the stories that break our hearts to find a God who created our hearts and fills them.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
Does the above website perform a valuable service, or does it pacify?
Hey Joel,
I hope I didn’t give the impression of desiring to be willfully uninformed. I keep reading the news and reading commentary on current events because it is important to remain informed about what is going on in our world. For the reaons you said. We have to know what is going on and looking for where we can serve and pray. I think though that sometimes things become over-sensationalized and we end up doing ourselves a disservice. I think the website you presented is useful to see that beautiful things happen in the world. And maybe we need to be more observant to the beautiful things happening around us. Just some initial thoughts. Thanks for the comment.
On a totally unrelated note (Good post though) I wondered what your thoughts on the following article would be.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090317.wgoodyear16/BNStory/National/home?cid=al_gam_mostview
Briefly, chaos has descended on the Minister of State for Science and Technology, who will not say one way or another if he believes in Evolution. On the one hand, many scientists and researchers believe that his personal beliefs (I gather they suspect him of being a creationist) will influence his decisions on what, if any, science to fund. On the other hand, his response that what he believes is not a matter of public security is also valid.
Any thoughts?