Where there is no faith...
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"Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present." Those words came from a man who lived in the town of Flagstaff, Maine, years ago. The town was to be taken over as part of a hydroelectric development. Because a dam was to be built, Flagstaff would soon be under water. In the months before this was accomplished, all improvements and repairs to homes and other buildings came to a dead stop. People in the town said to themselves, "What's the sense of painting the house of it's going to be covered with water in six months? Why fix anything?" Week by week, the little town became more and more bedraggled, forlorn, and shabby. It went to seed long before the waters came because it had lost hope. "In all things it is better to hope than despair," wrote Goethe. Tennyson spoke of "the mighty hopes that make us men." And in this passage, Paul wrote, "But Abraham believed God, and continued hoping" (Romans 4:18, New Century Version). Isaac Asimov told the story of a ship sailing across a rough ocean. During the journey, Mr. Jones became terribly seasick. At bad moments, a kindly steward patted Jones on the shoulder and said, "I know, sir, that it seems awful. But remember, no one ever died of seasickness." Jones lifted his head from the rail and replied, "Don't say that! It's only the hope of dying that's keeping me alive." Where there's hope, there's life!
-- Chinn
-- Chinn
