“Do not fear, only believe.”

Mark 2:36

He had every reason to not hope.

The ruler of the synagogue had asked an on-the-rise prophet by the name Jesus as his last hope to save the life of his daughter.

Before Jesus could make his way over to his house, the life of his daughter faded away into the night. So his servants told him to send Jesus away and to not waste his time.

But Jesus had a different charge to him: “Do not fear, only believe.”

The ruler had every reason not to believe.

Left to our own devices, our hearts can only hold on to hope for so long. For the heart works in conjunction with our mind, to put together the pieces of reality to determine whether it should continue holding.

It takes so much strength for the heart to hold on to hope. And being of the pain it would incur if hope were dismissed, the heart looks for all the reasons to let go of hope. For the longer and greater the heart holds on to hope, the greater the fall upon news of its disappointment.

Yet Jesus does the unthinkable here by instructing the ruler: hold on even longer. Take the risk of greater pain and greater disappointment.

What logic can Jesus use to justify such an extension? Only this: because He said so.

Unlike the rest of the world, the hope of our lives are not just to be built on common knowledge. We are not like the pagans, whose lives are left to mercy of the mechanics of the world handed to them. We as the people of God live in a world where He lords over creation itself. And if he says so, then even against all logic, he can make it work.

Jesus walks into the room declares, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.”

Jesus sees by a different light. As the maker of heaven and earth, he is not confined to the rules of the world he has made. He can cut through with his power and with a snap of his finger make things come to pass.

What is the reason to have hope in this life?

Only because God says so.

We could have every knowledge and reason against so but his words are the only thing worth trusting. On him we have placed our hope. Whether we are seen as fools or not is of no concern. If we are fools for Jesus, then so let it be. But his words are the only reason we have hope in this life.