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We Will See
Hope is a wonderful thing. Without hope, we cannot survive. Since we see a bright tomorrow, we can survive dark today. When our tomorrow is gloomy, it is that much harder to live today.
So, the secret of living a healthy life is always to see the bright tomorrow. Tomorrow is not here yet. So, as far as tomorrow is concerned, it is always your attitude.
Tomorrow may bring sadness. Yes, it is possible. Tomorrow may bring disaster. Yes, it is possible. Tomorrow may bring tragedy. Yes, it is possible.
There is a Chinese word which is very interesting. I taught the word to people in Madagascar. They loved it. They went around, saying, “새옹지마.” It’s called 새옹지마 The word comes from this story.
There was an old man who lived in the Former Han Dynasty. He had a horse. One day, this horse ran away and he lost the horse. So, the village people came and told him how sorry they were. The old man responded, “Oh well, we will see.”
The next day, the horse that ran away came back with another horse. The village people came and told the old man how lucky he was. The old man responded, “Oh well, we will see.”
The next day, the son was riding the horse and he fell from the horse and broke his leg. The village people came and told the old man how sorry they were. The old man responded, “Oh well, we will see.”
The next day, the war broke out and all the young men of the right age were drafted to go to war. But he didn’t have to go to war because he broke his leg. The village people came and told the old man how lucky he was. The old man responded, “Oh well, we will see.”
From this story, the word 새옹지마 came.
Not only we don’t know what is waiting for us tomorrow, but also we don’t know how tomorrow will bring another tomorrow. Tomorrow may bring sadness, but the sadness may bring another joy. Tomorrow may bring disaster, but the disaster may bring another luck. Tomorrow may bring tragedy, but the tragedy may bring another blessing.
A Strong Perspective
Life is a perspective. It is important to have a strong perspective. Don’t be shaken by what is happening right now. Have a strong perspective.
That is what we see in today’s passage.
St. Paul had a strong perspective.
…we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. (Romans 5:3, 4)
He believed that even sufferings will create hope within him. He can even boast in his sufferings. That is a strong perspective.
He saw everything in the perspective of hope. Hope is not merely about having positive outcome for tomorrow. In hope, he saw all things would work out for good. In hope, he was prepared to deal with all kinds of situations.
Paul’s hope did not depend on his calculation of the possibility for tomorrow. Paul’s hope did not depend on his feeling about tomorrow. Paul’s hope depended totally and solely on God’s love for him.
This is what he said.
…hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5:5)
His hope was deeply rooted in God’s love. Hope is not about how we feel about future. It is not about how our present situation looks good. It is about God’s commitment for us that comes from his love.
Let’s have this kind of hope. It will give us a strong perspective for tomorrow.
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