I remember the tag line to a popular song, “The future’s so bright that I got to wear shades”. That kind of optimism appeals to me, but it is not the message that I most often hear from the world around me and even from Christian sources. I think I am sufficiently aware of the presence of negativity and even evil in our world. I know there are wars and rumors of war. I know that there is still much injustice in our world near and far. I notice that there seems to be ten painful stories for every positive one on the news every night. Will everything keep getting worse and worse until Jesus returns or has the Christian hope for this world and the world to come transformed our views of what the future will bring? Can we have confidence that with God’s help and guidance, the future will indeed be bright? I hear the words of scripture, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, on them has the light shined.” This is more than Pollyanna thinking. I believe that there is a promising future in the promises of God. There can be dark days and nights, but eventually the sun will rise and shine again even brighter as the darkness is blazed away in God’s light. “Shine Jesus, shine fill the world with the Father’s glory.” So until that time comes I’m going to hold onto my shades.