Through Death, Hope is Born.
By Samuel Pho
Our TV screens are replete with images of violence from different parts of the world.
Every day there are people who are prepared to sacrifice their lives to destroy the lives of others.
In some misguided belief that they are doing the will of God, their purpose is to instill fear and destroy hope.
It is hard to imagine how the life of any individual is improved by such acts.
In stark contrast, our focus is turned to one who laid down his life that others might know peace and might discover hope. This act of sacrifice did not involve an act of violence towards others, nor was it declared aloud as something done in the name of God. In the quiet moments, Jesus surrendered his life, trusting in God for resurrection, and thereby providing hope for enemy and friend alike. This was no random act of violence, but an act of sacrificial love.
Let us take some time to ponder again how this sacrificial gift of His life enabled the birth of hope for all… a hope not born by destroying the people around, but by destroying the barriers to hope itself, such that even through death, hope is born.
May you know and experience in your life the reality that is expressed through the words: Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again. 
Lieut. Colonel Samuel Pho is the National Secretary of the Salvation Army National Secretariat.
He came by boat to Australia as a Vietnamese refugee during the Vietnam war.
He is now stationed in Canberra.
