Evil and good both display something about God

¹Both the depth of evil actions or height of great (good) achievement displays the greatness of God. 

How? The void within that drives those to great harm (evil) or ²"great good" is so vast, what is required to fill it must be equally vast i.e. the greatness of the void that drives them is because of the greatness of God. To say it another way, our capacity for God is such that the void left by His ³absence is in proportion to His greatness, i.e. the greater the object, the greater the hole (void) left by its absence. The greater the hole, the greater the vacuum it creates and energy/action required to fill it; energy used both to inflict great harm or achieve ²"great good." As a result, ⁴the most gifted are able to go to great extremes - both good or bad - in an attempt to fill it.

Our desire for meaning, purpose, and value is insatiable - i.e. infinite - resulting in extreme behavior.  Regardless, lasting meaning and purpose can only be filled by the infinite, i.e. something infinitely great, not something temporary.

______________________________________________________________

¹What I am addressing is extreme effort and results are the fruit of exceptional ability coupled with an extreme desire for greatness, power, achievement, etc. Good and evil come from the same place with rare exceptions (see the next footnote for the exception). What many call good is driven by the same void; the same absence of God that drives evil conduct. It may be "good" on the surface, but it still comes from a need to fill a void, not the result of being full and overflowing in goodness to others. 

²Not all "good" actions are driven by the absence of God and the need to fill the void created by that absence. Some people are driven truly to give, not get-take. But they are those rare, "sold out" believers and followers of Jesus who are so captured by His love, they do all things for His honor and often do so unsung, because the good they do is to bring glory to God out of love for him and others, not to obtain (or seek) fame and the praise of others. The world could care less about God's glory and therefore about these worshipers of God. In fact, they are often ridiculed as foolish for being so "God-obsessed." 

And how is it possible to do things solely for God's glory? Because of Christ, God - in the vastness of His infinite love - is present again (as originally intended) via His Spirit where the void used to be. And once He is, it is for us to believe this with every fiber of our being and all the implications of His being present. 

³this absence is not due to God being unavailable but to our rebellious refusal to recognize it is He alone who must fill the void, resulting in our looking only to him to do so.

⁴the drive of those who are able to accomplish the greatest harm or good is coupled with great abilities as well. We all are driven to fill the void left by God's absence (simply stated, we were not designed to be empty. Vacuums are not normal but evidence of something absent). However, only a few are skilled enough to have a more significant impact than most i.e. only a few have the abilities to carry out great harm or "good" because of the great gifts/skills they have been given and use for their own ends, not God's. 

I am also addressing "good" as defined by the world; those highly "successful" in their field of endeavor, "superstars" such as high-profile entertainers, actors, artists, musicians, athletes, business tycoons, etc. These are individuals who have an impact in their particular field of endeavor (for good or harm), and leave a clear and significant mark on history. In fact, it is the desire to leave this mark that often drives them i.e. they are driven by the desire for their own fame and glory, not God's. 

I would add all of us are driven in the same way without the love of Christ moving us to action i.e. absent God's love, we are driven to fill the void of God's absence. The difference I am addressing is some have a greater skill set, be it temperament, natural abilities (musical, athletic, verbal, creative, intellectual, etc), and such, and can therefore have a greater-more significant impact on the world than others. 

The necessity of hope

No one operates without hope. We all must have it. Without hope, we give up trying to accomplish things. Once we lose hope we quit.

What is hope? It is ¹anticipation or expectation -- sometimes absolute confidence -- of obtaining what we do not yet have, that we believe will give us the greatest sense of meaning, importance, worth, significance, etc. The common emotion we experience when we obtain this is happiness. 

To say it another way, hope is driven by finding what we believe is missing that will make us most happy if and when we find it.

What is it about us that causes us to need and seek hope? Why is having hope so essential, so much so that we will end our life if we no longer have it? What is missing that creates a desire to always look for something to satisfy us; to fulfill our hope? ²Why do we hope at all?

Hope is so much a part of our makeup, even in suicide someone is operating out of hope.

Ironically, they hope to end the pain of no longer having hope. They have lost hope of finding any true or lasting meaning, purpose or significance. They feel totally helpless, useless, and worthless. The pain of their present existence is greater than their hope of finding relief from it. They are driven by a desperate hope that ending their present state might stop the screaming pain of no hope and give them peace. When we say, ³"rest in peace" (R.I.P) when someone leaves this "veil of tears" we are expressing this very thing. The hope that our life ending will finally stop the unsuccessful pursuit to relieve the pain of disappointment, fear, loss etc.

Hope for the unbeliever

Ultimately, hope for the unbeliever is the satisfaction of their thirst for meaning, purpose, and value occurring when they obtain wealth, fame, power influence, a life partner or  ____________  (fill in the blank), etc.  Outside of Christ and His infinite love, all our energy, and creativity, all our endeavors and enterprises are driven by this hope.

If our hope is a specific goal, such as "one day I will be or have the best this or that' -- 'get that perfect job' -- 'find the perfect partner' -- 'become a multimillionaire' -- 'win the Olympics' - or whatever we believe will give us the greatest sense of meaning,, significance, purpose etc. - and when I do, I will finally find real happiness." 

Ironically reaching a major life goal can result in the opposite of what is hoped for - i.e. despair, not happiness. After great struggle and effort someone finally reachs what they hoped would give them some anticipated meaning or significance, only to find it ⁴does not give them the satisfaction and peace they'd hoped for. 

We sometimes hear of those reaching the pinnacle of their dreams and goals only to become totally disenchanted. Then trying to numb the pain of this new discovery through substance abuse, often winding up overdosing or taking their own life. 

Think of all the ⁵celebrities who have struggled with substance abuse after reaching wealth and fame. Their life ended as a result. 

These are people our culture admires and looks up to with the greatest regard/ admiration. After all, they have "made it" in life. 

Yet, they are miserable more often than not and sometimes more than ever. This is true far more than we like to acknowledge. To acknowledge this means we are hoping for the wrong things.

Existentialism. Man's solution to hope in a postmodern world.

The existentialist says there is no real objective purpose or meaning to our existence. Yet everything within us objects and screams out against this. We are compelled to have meaning and hope. We must have it! So much so that this world view says we must create it even when their belief system doesn't allow for it. 

So how does the existentialist handle this dilemma? They tell you to create a sense of meaning (subjectively) by doing things that make you feel meaningful and significant, i.e. create meaning by acting as if there is meaning even though their world view says it is a myth. Do something that gives you a sense of meaning and purpose even though the universe, including us, is truly pointless and a big cosmic accident that came about by chance. 

Existentialism demonstrates that hope is such a necessary part of our makeup, we must somehow create it even though it is totally incompatible with their world view.

So hope for the existentialist is creating a sense of meaning through my actions in an otherwise meaningless existence.  i.e. we must create meaning through our existing in a meaningful way, even though our existence is meaningless according to them. For the existentialist, there is no real absolute and objective truth or meaning; no objective, transcendent purpose. It is purely subjective. 

The expression "If it feels good, do it" - so prevalent today - is the "fruit" of this world view. Purpose, significance, or meaning is based solely on my experience not on any absolute objective reality that any of these are real since no such reality exists for the existentialist. 

Suicide is not uncommon among those who adopt this philosophy. For Camus (a highly regarded existentialist) - since there is no real objective meaning in the universe - "Should I kill myself?" was the essential and nagging philosophical question.

The believers hope

The ultimate hope for the believer is full satisfaction of purpose, meaning, and significance when we are face to face with Christ, the Creator - our relentless, boundless lover. It is a belief in this promise that fuels the believer's hope and actions.

This raises and addresses the question and dilemma of what is the legitimate motive for acting. Is it because, as believers, we ⁶already experience partial fulfillment in anticipation of complete fulfillment or because we are in search of something in order to be fulfilled as nonbelievers? 

The former results in acting out the hope of fullness, the latter out of emptiness. We are driven either by a desire to honor God because we already have absolute and perfect meaning through the promise/hope of eternal meaning/bliss in and with Him or the hope for some kind of meaning now through our efforts.

(ESV)  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

(KJV)  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

(NASB)  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

(AMP)  NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

(ERV)  Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see.

(GNB)  To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.

For a discussion on how this life is full of trouble click here. 

__________________________________________________________________

¹There appears to be different kinds or levels of hope. "I hope so" would probably be the weakest and most common meaning we give that word. It's more wishful thinking than a rock-solid certainty. This is commonly what is meant when hope is used in casual conversation. 

Anticipation and expectation are a little stronger. This would be what a kid feels leading up to Christmas. Though they don't have their gifts yet, they are sure they will because they have always received them in the past and believe they will again because of past treatment. 

This video (click here) is revealing -- and possibly a humorous or cruel example of how significant hope is when kids get something other then what they hoped for at Christmas or their birthdays. This is not something we have to teach kids. Hope is an inherent part of our makeup. 

The strongest form of hope is absolute certainty. This is usually how hope is used in the bible. What you hope for is so certain it's as if you already have it when you do not yet i.e. the only piece missing is you don't yet have what you hope for but are 100% sure you will. The reason for the certainty is it is based on the unchangeable nature of the one making the promise i.e. God Himself and the actions He has already taken -- by sending Jesus -- as rock-solid proof He already loves us and will fufill what he promised. God has already acted in a way that assures us he will come through on what we are told is yet to come. 

Men make promises but they are not all-powerful and may not be able to keep them. God, however, is absolutely able and therefore always true to His word/promise. He not only has the intent (love) to do what He promises, but the ability (power) to accomplish it and also knows exactly (wisdom) what is needed. 

______________________________________________________________________

²For a discussion of what it is we are all after click here.

³It is ironic that there is a universal sense -- though not always a conscious one -- that no one is permanently at peace in this life. Hence the wish for someone to rest in peace (R.I.P.) after dying. This is a back handed way of acknowledging life is a struggle and often full of turmoil. It is worth pointing out this expression began when the notion that someone who was a follower of Christ was headed for heaven - a place of perfect rest and peace - was much more commonly held. We still use the expression even though certainty of a blissful afterlife is far less common. The idea is we feel we must leave this life to be free from our restlessness -- or at least hope we will be. Complete uninterrupted peace in this life is elusive at best. Therefore we hope for it after this life.

⁴Or the thrill quickly fades so we redouble our efforts to achieve it again, or try something else in an attempt to find a better thrill and temporary rush of happiness -- or relief of pain. The fact that we go after it, again and again, indicates we never actually find it -- at least not in a lasting way -- yet hope we still can.  

⁵It's not that celebrities have more struggles. We all struggle. But it's because, more than the average person, they obtain what we all hope for and experience it first hand -- unlike most of us -- and then - to their dismay - find it doesn't deliver on its promises. To say it concisely, what they had hoped for they achieved but it still didn't work. 

⁶Though we will not experience complete fulfillment in this life, it is the anticipation of it, that gives us hope and joy. 

Like God but not

We are like God, His image bearers, but in time -- i.e. created, not eternal. Christ bears God's image eternally - no beginning or end - and we everlastingly with no end but a beginning. Christ is the only eternally begotten and perfect (exact) image bearer of the Father and we are image bearers who are begotten ¹in time. 

This, in part, is why God can love us with the same kind of love he loves his Son. Both Christ and ²we are in God's image. Because of this, both reflect the Father in a way nothing else can. 

Christ is called our elder brother for good reason. Christ is the eternal Son of God, and if we are in Him, we are the everlasting sons and daughters of this same God. But children nevertheless. 

What is fascinating is since there is no time with and for God and he knows all things, we eternally existed in the mind of God before we became a conscious being, with self-awareness, at a specific point in time.

Our coming into being was real nevertheless because prior to our actual existence, even though God knew us, we were not conscious i.e. We did not know God because we had no existence and the awareness that comes with it - a part of our experience that occurred only when we came into being . Nor did we have interaction with God - a part of both Christ's and our experience -- even though God was fully aware of us with all our unique attributes and skills - as if we already existed - and also aware of all of our days before they actually occurred. See Psa 139. 

For a further discussion on time click here. 

For a further discussion of the value of being in God's image click here. 

For a further discussion on what distinguishes us from others click here.

For a discussion on Christ being the only begotten Son of God click here. 

For a discussion on the significance of the incarnation, click here. 
_____________________________________

¹Certainly there are many other aspects that distinguish Christ from us. The most obvious being He is God along with all the incommunicable attributes associated with God -- all knowing, all powerful, sovereign to name some main ones. 

As God, Christ is also co-Creator with the Father. We are mere creatures, but creatures that are like God in very significant ways nevertheless. 

²Of course, many of our other attributes, as well as time, do not match Christ's. We are not the all knowing, all powerful co-Creator of all things; Christ alone is.