Looking for signs of HOPE in Alhambra
What are signs of hope? The Webster’s Dictionary defines hope as “to desire with expectation of obtainment, to expect with confidence, to anticipate or look forward to the coming or occurrence of.”
What do you hope for? What do you look forward to? What does the Church and City hope for?
As believers, we hope for God to be made known in our city – for the sign of God’s promise: that He loves us and will not leave us and that He is transforming us and our cities. We hope for healing, transformation and redemption for ourselves and for Alhambra. Is this a wishful hope or a realistic one?
God promises that He will be with us - Ezekiel 48:35 "And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE."
And we know according to God’s Word that He has plans and purposes we have yet to see for ourselves and for our cities/communities.
What does the City hope for? Healing, purpose, future, survival?
God promises to restore the land and the people. But do we believe it? Do we look for it? Where do you see the Lord in our city? What hope can we share with this City? If God is alive and well in Alhambra – what are the signs of His hope here?
Last month there was a gathering of people representing the Church and City in the LA region who came together to share, learn and see the signs of God’s hope in the LA region. Signs of Hope LA (www.signsofhopela.org) challenged us to be aware, to see that the Lord is here in our cities.
What do you think? What do you see in Alhambra? What do you hope for?
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Narnia, a place of eternal winter?
Last month I was able to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The movie is a book-to-film adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ timeless adventure that follows the transformative journey of four children – Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter as they enter the magical world of Narnia through an ordinary wardrobe closet belonging to an eccentric professor. Narnia is a fantastic land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants. Once peaceful, Narnia is now at war, cursed to an eternal winter by an evil White Witch and held captive through violence, corruption and fear. As the children learn more about this new world, they find themselves in the middle of an epic battle of Good vs. Evil. There they are confronted with echoes of an ancient prophecy, the guidance of a mystical and noble lion (Aslan, the Christ figure) and the possibility that they will be responsible for changing the future of Narnia.
What strikes me in this story is Narnia – a land of eternal winter. What does that mean to always be in winter – no hope of spring, summer or fall, just winter? Narnia is a place where there is life but life is lived in fear, always looking over one’s shoulder for the white witch. She is unpredictable and can freeze people at her beckoning. She rules with brutal coldness. Narnia is a place where community is broken, people are afraid and lonely. Is this what Alhambra looks like? Are we living in a sort of Narnia state? There are signs of hope in Alhambra but do we live in a place where winter prevails; no matter how hard we try, poverty and distrust grow?
As believers and followers of Aslan (Jesus) we know that winter will not last forever. The perception given is that winter will last forever but the truth is that summer will return – all things will be restored. That is not just hopeful wishing but a promise of God.
As we pray for God’s Kingdom to come to Alhambra it is not just wishful thinking – we know that Narnia will be restored into all that Aslan had intended. And Alhambra will be the place where God’s Kingdom comes as it is in Heaven.
Last month I was able to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The movie is a book-to-film adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ timeless adventure that follows the transformative journey of four children – Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter as they enter the magical world of Narnia through an ordinary wardrobe closet belonging to an eccentric professor. Narnia is a fantastic land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants. Once peaceful, Narnia is now at war, cursed to an eternal winter by an evil White Witch and held captive through violence, corruption and fear. As the children learn more about this new world, they find themselves in the middle of an epic battle of Good vs. Evil. There they are confronted with echoes of an ancient prophecy, the guidance of a mystical and noble lion (Aslan, the Christ figure) and the possibility that they will be responsible for changing the future of Narnia.
What strikes me in this story is Narnia – a land of eternal winter. What does that mean to always be in winter – no hope of spring, summer or fall, just winter? Narnia is a place where there is life but life is lived in fear, always looking over one’s shoulder for the white witch. She is unpredictable and can freeze people at her beckoning. She rules with brutal coldness. Narnia is a place where community is broken, people are afraid and lonely. Is this what Alhambra looks like? Are we living in a sort of Narnia state? There are signs of hope in Alhambra but do we live in a place where winter prevails; no matter how hard we try, poverty and distrust grow?
As believers and followers of Aslan (Jesus) we know that winter will not last forever. The perception given is that winter will last forever but the truth is that summer will return – all things will be restored. That is not just hopeful wishing but a promise of God.
As we pray for God’s Kingdom to come to Alhambra it is not just wishful thinking – we know that Narnia will be restored into all that Aslan had intended. And Alhambra will be the place where God’s Kingdom comes as it is in Heaven.
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