Emptiness & Hopelessness

Lisa and I decided to rent a movie Wednesday of last week. We stopped at Bi-Lo to grab a movie from the DVD Express box there (I mean really... it's a $1 to watch a DVD as long as you have it back the next day... great deal if you ask me!). She picks the movie Revolutionary Road.

I will say this... it is probably one of the saddest movies I've seen. Definitely in the top 5. The saddest moment in the movie was the actually the deepest moment. A moment that made Lisa pause it and we talked about it for a few minutes.

The main characters, Frank and April Wheeler, walking in the woods with their newly introduced friend John. They are discussing with John why they are moving to Paris.

“And what’s in Paris?” John asks as they walk.

“A different way of life,” April responds.

“So maybe we are running… we’re running from the hopeless emptiness of the whole life here.”  Frank concedes.

John pauses.  “The hopeless... emptiness? Now, you’ve said it.  Plenty of people are on to the emptiness, but it takes real guts to see the hopelessness… Wow.”

John continues walking.  Frank and April watch him go.

I found this to be absolutely tragic because so many people in this world DO think that it's filled with both emptiness AND hopelessness.

I can admit that even looking at the current situations that are going on around me it would be easy to fall prey to the idea that there is no hope. But as the old saying goes, "momma didn't raise no fool!" I know God enough that I believe there is hope. This section of Paul's letter to the Romans speaks of having such a hope:

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
(Romans 5:1-5 ESV)

peace and grace,
Bill