The title of chapter 30 is 'Hope' and that of chapter 31 'Recap'. Since chapter 31 is the last chapter and it is a summary of the previous chapters, chapters 30 and 31 and put together in this post. So this post is mainly about chapter 30. But chapter 30 is similar to an essay that appeared in a different book some years back. I have summarized that essay here in 2011.
Faith, hope and love -- says Paul. Hope is very close to Christian thought. Christians idea of hope is different from optimism that sometimes say that we humans through our own effort will bring 'utopia' to realisation. Christians work for justice and that must continue. But final justice is to be brought about by God through his son Jesus Christ. Since God will accomplish it, one need not despair. But a question emerges that says if God is going to do the job, why must we participate in seeking justice now? Well, because God is inviting us to participate in righting injustice, and not just remain standing as a distant spectator to what he is doing.
While seeking justice, it is important to remember that God is working mysteriously. And sometimes we have to name injustice, and then pray for justice to prevail. And when justice prevails, we have to give thanks to God. When we do this we are identifying God's hand working in human history. Well, this could be read wrongly; so one must be careful in identifying God's hand in history. But identifying injustice and giving glory to God for unjust practices/systems that have been rectified must be part of Christian effort while loving and seeking justice.
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