Hope. Hope is that quality about us humans that links us through our faith to the greatest we believe. I think that many moderns hoped in their ability to know, and thus, all effort was made to achieve knowledge. I think that many post-moderns hope in history, trusting it to work itself out, since in our "situatedness" we are unable to speak of absolutes completely. I think that many of my days are spent wondering about what I should not wonder about.
What I got out of Haggai was that God was very clear about his intentions. He made sure that people understood that while they were busy about building up their own lives, they had left God's house, the temple, in ruins. God issued a mandate moving the people to action, and he makes it happen. He goes down and stirs the spirit of the people, the rulers, and the religious guides to action. What you have then, it God motivating internally to participate in a fantastic project.
Think of the tremendous hope this should inspire. If we truly believe (which is the important part) that our redemption through the sacrifice of His Son is complete, and if we believe that our account has been adjusted from sin and is readjusted with the positive benefit of righteousness, we can hope that even in the matters that swirl around us in our day, God can move the spirits of those around us to participate in a meaningful project.
What is the meaningful project? Jesus interprets this for us: "But seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness and all these things shall be added" (Mat 6:33). The question that should confront our minutes of the day, affections of the heart, and the frailty of our minds, is what are these resources being directed towards? Worrying about tomorrow and trying to prepare for it in a large sense is too distracting.
Well... gotta work. Go read Haggai.. should only take a few minutes...
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