HOPE -- Lily and Mara

One True Hope

A Story by Lily W. 

All Drawings By Mara C.

Hello everyone! I wanted to share a great story of hope with you all. This is not a true story, but in many cases it could very well be. This isn’t just a fantasy story, but I truly hope it will be read anyways, and that it will give you an understanding of the true hope we have in Jesus Christ, our Savior. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope.

It can be described many different ways, in many different contexts. Some think of it as a

motivational word, while others think much deeper. But hope has only one true definition, or, as you

could think of it, we only have one true hope. 

There once were two sisters. The older one was the “angelic” child, never straying from her

parents’ instruction. She did her work dutifully, and took her parents’ praise humbly. Her younger sister,

however, was always the naughty one. She left her work to be done till later, often had a fiery temper

against her sister or her parents, and was selfish and greedy. For these reasons she found herself

lacking in friends, while her older sister had many. 

This way they both grew up. The elder of the two was beloved by many, and, even though she

had not been treated well by her sister, she still loved her immensely. However, she was prideful, and

would refuse to listen to anything her sister tried to rebuke her on. She felt that her ways were always

right- and her sister’s wrong. The younger made many mistakes, and spent hours grieving over a lost

childhood in which she had not been loved. She felt that there was no hope in her life any longer, that

she had lost all of her chances long ago when she was young.

But she was wrong.

Soon she was met by a stranger, one who accepted her kindly, and did not care that she was not

perfect and hard-working. At first the sister was unsure of what to think, seeing in this stranger another

older sister who would overshadow and outweigh her. But the stranger persisted in her kindness

towards her, and soon she was not a stranger, but a close friend. Many days were spent over coffee

together, talking and laughing. The sister saw in herself a change for the better, though she tried not to

glimpse it. She knew these were but momentary things. She had spoiled her life, hadn’t she?

Her friend encouraged her, and one day she shared with her about what made her so happy. She

shared about the love of Jesus, the one who could save her out of her misery. The sister did not listen

closely. She had seen these things on billboards and the like, and did not think anyone could save her

out of her despair, even this Jesus. 

One day her friend invited her to go to church with her. Not having anything else to occupy her time, she went, and enjoyed it. She had always enjoyed singing and music. What she did not see was the saddened, heartbroken look on her friend’s face when she pulled out her phone to pass the time during the long, boring sermon. After that was done, though, she was greeted by many people there who asked her name, and other questions that made her feel welcomed. In all of them she saw the spirit of her friend echoed- the happiness and joy that surrounded them. 

Next week, she went again, to the obvious delight of her friend. She asked her older sister to go, too, by some strange impulse, but her sister said that she was too busy and could not go. After this response the younger sister laughed and wondered why she had bothered asking. She had never cared about things like that before. This week, she saw her friend during the sermon.

Her mind was fixed on the words being spoken, her eyes shining with joy at them. For a second, the sister put down her phone to listen to what could be so captivating. It was never picked back up. 

The sermon spoke of living water, and the one who drinks from it never being thirsty again. She listened intently, for once not focused on the despair her life had brought her. Instead, she realised something for the first time- she was not hopeless! She did not understand the whys or hows. But she kept coming to the church, questioning her friend and others there who she came to know. She slowly learned that the name “Jesus” was more than just a sign on a billboard. He was her Savior! He had come down from heaven so that he could die for all of her sins, and for everyone else’s. At least, everyone else who trusted in him. He had died a painful death on the cross, just to take the punishment that she had deserved. And she realised that she needed this Jesus to take her sins, too. And so she prayed with her friend, and put her trust in Jesus. 

Not long after, she was baptised at that same church, surrounded by her friend and many others. She was a different person now. She still made the same mistakes, she was not perfect, and she was not obedient to all her Father asked of her. But she tried, and prayed, and repented again and again. Her older sister stayed the same; obedient, helpful, and good, but not (as her younger sister now knew) perfect. Only One was truly perfect. And the older sister was not saved by Christ Jesus. 

Our hope does not lie in obedience, goodness, truth, or even love. You can be lacking in these things, because they are not what saves you, and they aren’t what brings you life. The older sister lived a life of happiness in this world, but would not in the next, greater, eternal life that was coming to her. The younger found happiness and sadness, goodness and evil, and yet always had the same hope: the next world would bring her true joy to her, Jesus Christ. 

Please listen to this -- if you are like the older sister, occasionally thinking of God but not truly obeying and loving him, you have no hope if you do not repent. If you feel like the younger sister felt, and feel hopeless and dejected, know that there is no such thing as perfection for humans. We are all sinners. And we all have the same hope: Christ Jesus. Without him we can never be truly hopeful.

This post was a collaboration between Mara C. and Lily W.