my hope in Jesus.

In The Good and Beautiful Community James talks about how we are a part of a story that inspires hope.  We have constant hope in Jesus because of what he did for us, and we are lucky enough to live our life through this story of hope.  The first part of the story of hope is death.  Jesus died on the cross, but we have died to our old way of life.  We have died to the things that used to control and make us "happy".  Our new life is found through Jesus and we are able to live by faith with Him.  The next is resurrection.  Jesus was physically raised from the dead.  We have the joy in accepting the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.  This allows us to live our new life knowing that we are a part of God's bigger story.  Ascension was Jesus ascending to heaven to reign.  We are called to set our hearts and minds on things above.  Jesus is calling us to focus on what is going to be eternal, not temporary.  Return is the last part that James discusses.  This obviously hasn't occurred yet, but we know that Christ will come again :)  As Christians we have hope that Jesus will return and heal all of our broken lives.  This story is so important to know because it is the Gospel.  I hope to really remember and cherish this story everyday.  It is a great tool to get us sharing our faith by including our own personal story in this form.