Lucy planned a picnic for the next day. She says to Charlie Brown,
"I just hope to goodness that it doesn't rain ..."
Walking away, Charlie answers, "Hoping to goodness is not theologically sound."
Charlie's right. "Hoping to goodness" is not sound.
Fixing our hope upon God is.
Robert L. Short, The Parables of Peanuts, (New York, Harper and
Row, Publishers, 1968), pp. 273.
======================================================================================
In a Peanut's cartoon Lucy encourages Charlie Brown: "Look at it this way, Charlie Brown," she consoles. "These are your bitter days. These are the days of your hardship and struggle ..."
The next frame goes on: "
... but if you just hold your head up high and keep on fighting, you'll triumph!"
"Gee, do you really think so, Lucy?" Charlie asks.
As she walks away Lucy says: "Frankly, no!"
Hope is like that. We speak of it more often than we believe
in it. Hope is not a strong word for us. It has more to do with
"wishing" than "expecting."
It has the sound of resignation, an inability to bring about,
influence, or even believe that a desired event, or goal, might
ever come to be.
Back to K T's Corner [ Previous ] [ Next ]
