Extending Grace and Igniting Hope

[Taliya]

I agree with Philip Yancey about grace being the last good word. As it was said in the video, the word grace has continued to be recognized by believers and non-believers. The extent of the understanding of that word varies but it is still recognized as something good.

I think the quiet desperation that Thoreau was referring to is seen, or felt, as a hole in someones life. a lack of purpose or sense of dissatisfaction or lack of direction in life. I think a lot of people feel this way, and I have felt this also, even knowing Christ. I feel this way during the times in my life where I have lost focus on the goodness of God, and once I press into Him again, the quiet desperation begins to go away. I think igniting hope looks like this. Bringing the knowledge of the grace of God and His goodness to people and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their lives to replace this desperation with hope.

[Sarah]

I believe that Thoreau’s words are very prevalent to the world today. When we look at social media, social status, and even influencer culture, there is a reward in acting as if your life is perfect and better than the people around you. However, that stifles space that could be made for real conversation and real struggle. Therefore, I think a lot of people are left feeling lonely, isolated, and less than, even though the metric they are comparing themselves to is curated and in many ways fake. I think that quiet desperation is really a desperation for connection and understanding, that is kept quiet because it feels vulnerable. I can definitely relate to this as there have been times I have felt alone and “desperate” for connection and understanding, but I have kept it inside because I don’t want to break the facade I have some times put up of what my life is and who I am (or present myself as).

[Nate]

I think that Thoreau’s words are quite apt to describe our culture. We are desperate for meaning, for significance, to know that what we do matters. We all have this struggle, but no one wants to talk about it. Its quiet, it is a turbulent storm inside us that we seek to repress or else we may collapse. I’ve certainly felt this at times in myself, especially when I find that I have unconsciously disconnected from God or neglected to give him any of my time.

The gospel though has such power to meet this need. It gives our action meaning by giving us a better story to live into, a place in the kingdom and a task that has meaning. Through his power Jesus can come and calm the storm inside us, and he can replace it with peace and joy in the knowledge of who he is.

[Micah]

One thing that I have noticed in the last few years is a plague of loneliness. I have certainly found, to my own surprise, that sense of loneliness in my own self. In a day and age where people are getting their social “fix” from social media, there is an unfulfilled and often unvoiced desire for deep connections and friendships, that I think is a large factor in what Thoreau calls “quiet desperation.”

Part of the beauty of the church is that we are by nature supposed to bear one another’s burdens and be friends and community that combats this loneliness. I think that in modern Canadian culture, we need this relational and friendly side of the church to be a major part of our outreach, as I have rarely found people that do not seem lonely is some way. Whether it is seniors that rarely are visited, middle-aged people that are so exhausted and consumed by busy work and parenting, or young people that have been raised with the widest and shallowest social setting (through the internet), everybody seems do be lonely and quietly desperate.