Hope in TP?

Pastor Steve Adams (Eastgate Bible Church)

It’s been an odd week in Australia. Who would have thought we’d ever have so many news stories, and even fighting in supermarkets over toilet paper?

Social Media abounds with photos of people wrapped in toilet paper with a heading that reads, “How Australians protect themselves from Coronavirus”. Now we all know that toilet paper doesn’t protect us from Coronavirus. Imagine the scenes in supermarkets if they stocked a product that actually protected people from Coronavirus.

When things get tough, our responses might be rash, a replication of the response of others, or for some, the hardship becomes an opportunity to reveal what’s most important and where true hope is found.

One day, Jesus was teaching that He was the only way that people could be saved, and that no amount of our good works could save us. Many walked away from Jesus

because of this. However, when Jesus asked some of his own disciples, “Do you want to leave too?”, their response was, “Where else can we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Both then and today, true peace and joy is not found in our distance from trouble but in our nearness to Jesus.