Christ Gives Us Hope, Science Equips Us to Act

The global pandemic has been an attack not only on our bodies, but on our spirits. As we all remember vividly, the first several months brought illness, fear, isolation, grief, strife, and uncertainty. I particularly missed worshipping in person and singing with my church. Worldwide, rates of major depression and anxiety disorders went up.

In 2021, my spirit feels under attack in different ways. Once the vaccines arrived, I had more cause for optimism—the people I loved were protected by the vaccine, it was easier to plan for the future, and my church resumed regular worship. Yet the biggest source of attack I feel hasn’t gone away: the increasing polarization and vitriol in our culture. At the beginning of the pandemic, I actually thought that the polarization would diminish, because our society would come together to fight the common enemy of COVID-19. I was sure wrong! The polarization only escalated, with “science” and “faith” increasingly landing on opposite sides of the divide. I now fear that the increased polarization will be with us long after COVID is under control. I’m not seeing many signs for optimism.

Polarization is a problem that science can’t solve. If there is one thing the pandemic has shown us, it is what science can and cannot do. Researchers have done amazing things: identified the virus, determined what actions would limit the spread, and developed vaccines that are effective and very safe. Yet the pandemic has made it clear that science can’t heal our larger societal problems. Science can’t reduce anger, forgive sins, build mutual respect, or fill us with compassion for others. Science can’t fill us with hope. Our world is in desperate need of all these things, but science can’t deliver. The good news is that Christ can.

Hope is acting in the confident expectation of a future good. By its very definition, we hope for things we do not yet have (Romans 8:24-25). Hope is looking toward a better future even when current circumstances are dire, choosing to identify and see hope. Hope is more than wishful thinking—hope looks a grim reality in the face, yet sees something transcendent beyond it, and chooses to live accordingly. Austin Channing Brown, in a study course alongside her book I’m Still Here, interviewed Brenda Salter McNeil about hope in the context of fighting racism. McNeil makes a distinction between hope and optimism: optimism is what we feel when current circumstances give a reasonable expectation that things will improve. But for all those times when circumstances look grim, we can still choose to hope. Hope is lived out in small actions—the steps we take every day as we look toward a future good. Without hope, we become overwhelmed, cynical, and despairing. Psychological research has documented the measurable benefits of hope, including reduced depression and anxiety, a stronger sense of meaning, and better health.

Christ gives us hope

Christ-centered hope is particularly powerful. As pastor and theologian Tim Keller shared in a recent interview about his new book, Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter, Christian hope keeps us both from naive optimism and from cynical despair. Wishful thinking isn’t powerful, because it is easily broken by bad circumstances; Christian hope recognizes that suffering and injustice will be with us because the kingdom of God has not fully come. Despair isn’t powerful, because it makes us listless and disengaged; Christian hope shows us a better way.

We have hope because we have been redeemed.

Because of Christ’s resurrection, our sins are forgiven and death has been conquered. We are not our own, but belong, in body and soul, in life and in death, to our faithful savior Jesus Christ. We are part of God’s big story, in which all things—from my soul to the whole creation—will be set right in the end. We know how the story ends.