Tim Wildmon
AFA president
June 2014 – “Without hope, nothing we do makes any sense.” Those words from Gov. Mike Huckabee recently caught my attention.
Mike has been a friend of our family for many years. A former pastor, he is a thoughtful and articulate spokesman for conservative and Christian values in our society.
He made the comment on his weekend television show on Fox News Channel. It was part of a short Easter commentary. I bring his quote to your attention to “Amen” Mike’s thoughts and to tell you why I think he said so much in so few words.
Mike was explaining why the historical resurrection of Jesus validates the truth of Christianity. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. … If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
The whole of our faith rests on the truth of the resurrection. Therefore, since Jesus was resurrected from the dead, all that the Bible teaches is validated. Therefore, hoping in Christ not only makes sense, it is the only thing that is “reasonable,” to use Paul’s words from Romans 12:2.
“And not even death can keep us from living with the deeply rooted and justifiable hope,” Mike said. Thanks, Mike. I like that.
And so, since that hope is real, Christians have every reason to press on, living and dying by the words of Scripture despite the downright discouraging news about the state of our nation.
If I may be so blunt, we have a president who is promoting an agenda much of which is in direct violation of God’s law. He is by far the most pro-abortion president in history. God hates the innocent shedding of blood, the killing of babies in the womb.
Our president is promoting the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgendered and queer agenda like there is no tomorrow. God says homosexuality is immoral, unnatural and unhealthy and should be repented of, not embraced and celebrated as a valid “alternative lifestyle.”
And on the issue of religious freedom, the president is trying to use the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) to force Christian-owned businesses such as Hobby Lobby to violate their convictions. My goodness, the Obama administration even went after the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic charity serving the elderly poor.
In addition, much of our popular culture is in open rebellion against God. Though they have little if any understanding of the Scripture, they routinely mock its message.
Humanly speaking, it’s easy to lose hope because the effects on our country by this kind of godlessness are devastating. The Scripture shows us that God sometimes destroyed nations for their rebellion against His moral standards and their lack of repentance. It will happen to us as well if we continue down this path away from God. I confess I get frustrated when I hear some of our fellow Christians saying we should disengage from politics, government and culture, as if we think we can live in isolation from the world around us.
So how do we move forward? Here’s my humble suggestion: 1) Remember the resurrection that validates hope in God; and 2) Rise every morning asking God to help us do the right thing according to His Word.
Will we fail? Certainly. Often. But praise God that even in our failures we are drawn back to Christ in repentance, faith and renewed hope. As Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds believers, God’s mercies are “new every morning.”
At AFA we attempt to lead Christians to impact our culture in ways that reflect who God is as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures. That begins by reminding ourselves that He is the God of hope who demonstrated that hope in the resurrection.
As we go about promoting responsible government, justice, morality, etc., that hope must be held high. We are not about political power, but the power of hope in Christ.
One thing is certain – God will be shown to be true and glorious no matter what the future of America turns out to be.
In the meantime, will everyone who wants to see our country go down the tubes raise your hand?
That’s what I thought.
Hope makes sense, so let’s get to work. 
* Internet slang for in my humble opinion
