Photo StoryIt is most important for us to ascertain that the cherished hopes on which we have staked our all are well- grounded. Most sad it is to see a man expending his energies in pursuing an object that exists only in his imagination; and the servants of God would be, as St. Paul says, the most miserable of men if their expectations turned out to be delusions. They would have sacrificed all and gained nothing; greed and sensuality would indeed be the highest wisdom. But the sight of the goodness and power that rule this universe, and our sense of right and equity, utterly forbid such a conclusion. Religion and revelation provide us with assurance stronger still. We know that God exists, infinite, merciful, equitable; we know that He has spoken to us, and that we possess His actual words; all this He has further confirmed to us in Jesus Christ, whose life renews the old promises and bestows still better ones. So we have learnt the fatherly goodness of God towards men, the bounty with which He provides for our salvation, the forgiveness that is ready for every sinner, and the patience which awaits his repentance. Imagine all that you can of omnipotence, of intense love, of tenderness to human weakness and folly, of provision for men's salvation, and then remember that the reality exceeds ten thousand times all the possibilities of imagination. How abundant are the grounds of your hope! The greatest offence against God is to set a limit to your hope and trust. Hope in Him and you will never be confounded.
