This morning I read from Romans 8 about hope. “Hope that is seen is not hope.” And then we drove to Carcassonne, deep in Cathar country. The Cathars were heretics, according to the Catholic Church, and so they were persecuted...but a cursory reading of Paul’s letters could lead us to the same conclusion the Cathars believed. Basically, flesh is bad, Spirit is good. They hoped in what they could not see. But what they saw in the world around them was beauty. That is certainly what I saw today in Cathar country and up into the mountains.
My faith in humanity’s goodness ebbs and flows, for sure. But I never doubt the goodness of creation - this world we inhabit is full of beauty and wonder. And we are part of that, and God declares it all good and very good. And so I hope. Because of what I can see, I hope in what I cannot see, a loving creator who dreams great dreams for us.
What can you see, and how does it give you hope in what you can’t see?