The Responsibility of Hope

A friend of mine has a problem nephew. Not to get into the details, but his nephew has had the kind of problems that have legal penalties and that caused him to be ostracized from the rest of his family. His nephew has nowhere to turn, as their entire family, including my friend, are still incredibly mad at him. And rightfully so.

But his nephew will truly have nowhere to go except back to the harmful people and ways that got him into the mess he is presently in. My friend, quite unfortunately, has to put aside all of his righteous anger and other feelings and reach out to his nephew. He must be a beacon of hope and provide the possibility of salvation for his nephew. There is no one else that can do it. He must provide the template for his nephew on what a real, good, and honest man looks like.

It's my friend's responsibility to do this for his nephew because he is family, and you must always take care of your family, no matter how difficult they make it. While this is true, this responsibility actually goes beyond kinship. The responsibility of hope lies with each and every one of us to ensure that none of us is ever left hopeless and lost. When you see someone in your life who appears to be living without hope, it is your moral obligation to reach out to them and let them know someone cares about them. You must put out a hand. They may embrace it or they may slap it away, but at least you have done your due diligence by God. We are all members of God's humanity, and as such, we must strive to love one another and share in hope. All for One.