Hope Beyond the Anger
There’s the anger after millennia has passed, our culture and generation still carries the scars our heroes died for.
Written last May 2020
If you ask me to summarize 2020 in one word, it would be: apocalyptic.
Volcanoes exploding as mother nature screaming in agony was terrible. It was heartbreaking, even. Dreamers paused their dreams, students interrupted their studies, and workers lost their work. Friends were forbidden to see each other. Families were separated as they force to carry on and stay in their respected places.
But one showstopper in 2020 was not the virus.
The pandemic forced the world to stop and freeze.
COVID-19 demanded the people settle in their houses and fear for the lives of everyone.
But the disease did not, has not, and will not keep us in our homes.
There’s the disappointment after thousands of years, we still need to fight for the rights of other humans
There’s the anger after millennia has passed, our culture and generation still carries the scars our heroes died for.
We know what it is.
Around the world, monuments are torn down. Statues of the oppressors are demolished, showing everyone the harm they caused to those they mistreated.
Rallies and revolts are taking place in different places, fighting different governments, but all for the same cause: Equality. Justice. Our rights.
It is maddening. Every day, the world gives us another reason to be disappointed and infuriated.
It has been ages since colonizers were the big trend of the day, yet their marks leave generations traumatized. It’s already 2020, and we still need to yell for people to hear the voices of the unheard.
But with the anger hidden in my heart, I have to acknowledge that with this anger comes the hope.
Despite my anger with racism, my soul longs for a place where everyone treats each other without bias. Where people choose to overlook and ignore the stereotypes individuals put in our faces. A vision where people are no longer labeled as “negroes,” or “ching-chongs,” but gathered and enjoying each other’s presence.
Despite my rage with selective justice, my soul yearns for a government where rightful justice is served, where the evil is punished, and where the honest are honored. I yearn for a city where the poor are taken care of; the widows are not left to fend for themselves, and the people find themselves in contentment knowing the men ruling them are set for their good.
Despite my exasperation with the violation of my rights, my heart longs where these rights are respected and valued. I long for the time when my value is seen, not as an Asian, or a Cis woman, but as a human being, with no labels attached.
Despite the resentment I have for this world, there lies the promise that I will attain all these things in heaven, with Christ.
Despite the anger I have against racism, there is the hope that equality will be given to those who are citizens of heaven. No matter the nationality or gender. Stereotypes will be forgotten and the only thing important is our identity in Christ.
Despite the outrage I have against the abuse of power, there is confidence in knowing that eternal life with Christ will show the justice I long to receive on earth. Where the wicked are punished, where the good are rewarded, and where the needy are not forgotten. I wait for the day to see vengeance being paid, where true judgment is only passed from the Lord.
Despite the outrage I have with the violation of my rights, my soul longs for the moment when my value will be seen. Not as a failure. Not as a woman. Not as an Asian. But only as a Christian, being a daughter of Christ, who through Him, has purpose and worth.
So, while I live on this planet, I will continue to let my anger course through my veins. I will stay, screaming in frustration against the attacks of the poor. I will endure, fighting for my rights, our rights, whatever the cost.
Because beneath the anger, is the hope, that all the things I am longing for on earth, are already achieved and can be found in Christ, in heaven.
In my eternal home.
Philippians 3:20 (ESV)
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
