Hope & Tragedy

Many years ago I was involved in a theatre company; that's what you call a group of people who perform plays and shows on a mainstage. Throughout my college days I was nearly always cast in strong roles, usually the lead, in various performances - some were musicals, some were mysteries, most were dramas; but there was only one comedy.

I learned much during those years and every character I portrayed on the stage, once the show was over and the set was torn down - I always felt that I had known the character as a person. That may seem odd, but it is a common feeling among actors even today, on every level of the arts.

There is one symbol that is universal for theatre; the masks of Comedy & Tragedy. A smiling mask and a mask with a frown; always together, yet always worlds apart from one another. They are depicted in portraits in art galleries, painted on walls in the Arts buildings of colleges; they are found in ancient depictions and in the modern era.
Together, they are to emulate in one symbol the range of skill and emotion a good production displays on stage. As theatre emulates life, Comedy & Tragedy emulate the stage.

But life isn't always summed up in comedy or tragedy; it is more described through Hope and Tragedy.

As I walked the maze of corridors in the world famous Cleveland Clinic seeking treatment today, around every corner, in every waiting room and patient room, in every doctor's office and at every table in the extensive hospital - I found Hope & Tragedy sitting side-by-side with one another in the form of other human beings.
The people come from every walk of life - wealth, poverty, and those somewhere between the two.
They come from nearly every nation on earth - evidenced by the word 'welcome' written on a sign in the main lobby in 40 different languages.
They come from various cultures - women with faces covered with a veil, men with baggy pants and 'bling.'
They come with different faiths - Amish are present, as are Muslims, Catholics, Hindus, Buddahists, Christians and countless other faiths few see in their regular walk of life.
Yet all come with one purpose - seeking hope amid tragedy, in the endurance of suffering.

Some find it, some do not.

Today, words spoken centuries ago by a man named Habakkuk spoke to me amid Hope & Tragedy. He once prayed:
'O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years,
In the midst of the years make it known...'
          - Habakkuk 3:2a

Although these words were about a different situation in a different time, it became clear that this has been the prayer that I have been praying most of the time in recent weeks.
For all practical purposes, as much as I hate to admit it, I am a middle aged man; more than anything I want for God Himself to revive His work through me in the midst of my years.
And I believe, right now as I write these words, that God has been working and moving in a way that I cannot rightly explain at this time. Like this situation I am in - I cannot understand what He is doing, but I know He is doing something - for me, that is enough. I do not need to understand; I need to trust and that is something I can do, although it may be imperfect at times.

Today, I sat in a room with women losing their hair from chemotherapy. I saw spouses caring for one another though their prime had long past; yet their love was abundant for one another. I met a foreign man from a Muslim country boldly proclaim his Christian faith to me without shame. I witnessed the compassion of God through doctors and nurses.
In short, I saw the best of what humanity offers; yet, what humanity offers will never be good enough.

On this day, I was given a glimmer of hope in an unlikely circumstance. I was given what all people seek when they come to this place in the midst of tragedy in their lives.
But what I was given, what all seek, will never be enough to satisfy the sickness that is underneath the skin.
Yet, there is a cure and there is a greater hope; it is the hope of all mankind, though some do not know it because they don't know Him - His name is Jesus.

Friend, we are all terminal and we are all sick; we have a cancer within us, a cancer that eats away at our hope, our joy, our lives, our emotions and our minds. Eventually, this cancer will be the most deadly because its reach extends beyond this life into the next; this cancer each of us has is the sin which resides within in our hearts.
No doctor can cure this cancer; no nurse can provide aid.
It takes a humble Galilean carpenter to cure this sickness; then He will help you rebuild your life.

Like many others, I have a glimmer of hope tonight; not entirely from earthly doctors but originating from God, both physically and spiritually. Many seek what I have but there is only one way to find this hope I now speak of - it is through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And if you will trust Him with your heart and life, on the authority of God's Word I can promise you that when He begins this work within you, He will not fail in accomplishing it.
You may have failed at many things in life; you may have made a career of making the wrong decisions and bad choices in your life - but not all decisions and choices are as important as other ones.
The decision as to what you must do with the cancerous sin in your heart is the most important decision you will ever make on this earth.
And God has chosen to leave this decision entirely up to you.
Choose wisely.

Until next time, get this one thing right with God and then try to win one for the good guys.