Hope is integral to faith in God. A hopeful view of the world’s future follows from faith in the God of history, who is moving forward to fulfill His promises. God has promised an end to violence and oppression, poverty, and sorrows.
Even though people do not always see the realization of their hopes in this world, they can still hope for a future beyond death and a new life in the eternal world.
Therefore, God created human beings to hope, and by keeping hope alive, we can draw closer to God.
Father Moon teaches that in the religious life we should keep a positive and hopeful attitude, always maintaining our vision and our hopes regardless of the circumstances. We should keep our minds fixed on eternity, with a hope that transcends even death.
We should carry the torch of hope, following in the footsteps of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and others who, in the words of the Letter to the Hebrews, possessed “the conviction of things unseen, assurance of things hoped for.” Above all, we should hope for the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom, especially in these days of the advent of the True Parents.
Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29.18
Youths may faint and be weary, and young men may fall, exhausted; but they who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength. Isaiah 40.30
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and shield. Yea, our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let thy steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in thee. Psalm 33.18-22
Let him who hopes for the encounter with his Lord work righteousness, and not associate with his Lord’s service anyone. Qur’an 18.110
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it men of old received divine approval. By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received approval as righteous, God bearing witness by accepting his gifts; he died, but through his faith he is still speaking. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was attested as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, took heed and constructed an ark for the saving of his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one… Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 11.1-16, 12.1-2
What more shall we be than we are? Listen to John the evangelist: “It is not yet apparent what we shall be: [but] we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him.” How? “For we shall see Him as He is.” A great promise, but the reward of faith… If you believe, ask for the reward of faith; but if you believe not, with what face can you seek the reward of faith? Saint Augustine, On the Gospel of John 40.9 (Christianity)
We therefore hope in Thee, O Lord our God, that we shall soon behold the triumph of Thy might, idolatry will be uprooted from the earth, and falsehood be utterly destroyed. We hope for the day when the world will be perfected under the dominion of the Almighty and all mankind learn to revere Thy name; when all the wicked of the earth will be drawn in penitence unto Thee. O may all the inhabitants of the world recognize that unto Thee every knee must bend, every tongue pledge loyalty. Before Thee, O Lord our God, may they bow in worship, and give honor to Thy glorious name. May they all acknowledge Thy kingdom, and may Thy dominion be established over them speedily and forevermore. For sovereignty is Thine, and to all eternity Thou wilt reign in glory. Daily Prayer Book, Alenu (Judaism)
Difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Martin Luther King, Jr.5 (Christianity)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Hope brings with it revival, development, victory and prosperity (64:311, November 12, 1972)
The highest hope of a human being is to reconnect with God.6 (68:131, July 29, 1973)
Because God continues to have eternal hope, today we too continue to cherish eternal hope. (1:99, June 6, 1956)
God works through the person who lives for the future, studies for the future, fights for the future, hopes for the future, and goes forward to make a new future. (97:241-42, March 19, 1973)
A person entertains all kinds of hope in his life. However, in the end he runs into death. He passes away, having left behind all the hopes he had fostered. Although he wandered through life seeking new hope, wishing to live today and tomorrow, when he runs into death, he goes the last path in despair.
Self-centered people may seem to have hope, but they lack the hope that can carry them over the hill of death. As they approach the time of their death, they lose all hope and just fade away. Shall we die in this manner?
Or shall we find the one hope by which we can go beyond death, scoffing at death and even delighting in it? This is the most crucial question for human beings living on earth today. Heaven has made limitless efforts to equip earthly people with a hope that transcends death, in order that they might live with their eyes fixed on the eternal world.
Therefore, people who lead a religious life should not live embracing earthly hopes, but should live entertaining the hope of transcending death. They should dream of a world where hope springs eternal. (6:45, March 22, 1959)
While enduring suffering and hardship, we keep a hopeful spirit. We get down on our knees and pray, “O God, please let our hope be realized.” We inherited this spirit from our forebears, and we will pass it down to our descendants.
Likewise, we are not like ordinary people, who when facing the same circumstances, would easily blame God saying, “If God exists, why does He let His people suffer?” (168:52, September 1, 1987)
May we go forth with a bold and vibrant attitude as God’s hopeful sons and daughters, going towards the nation of peace, the peace of the Kingdom of Heaven. (33:273, August 16, 1970)
Today is the day of the proclamation of the True Parents. Although this is a world without hope, where people do not believe in anything or hope for anything, one sprout of hope is blossoming—the True Parents. (202: 341, May 27, 1990)
Snow and cold wind of the bitter night, lift off the weight of your cold, ruthless hand. Spring breeze will chase you and bring flowery fragrances, breathing new life to the suffocated hills. Though you, most ruthless of winter winds, blow, doomed in a moment you too shall be calmed.
Spring breeze will chase you and bring flowery fragrances, breathing new life into the suffocated hills. Butterfly awake, and you meadowlark of spring, our land has suffered this nightmare too long. Spring breeze will chase you and bring flowery fragrances, breathing new life to the suffocated hills. (Song of the Spring Breeze)
END OF BOOK CHAPTER