Missiologist Lesslie Newbigin was often asked, “Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the church?”
Newbigin had learned to reply like this: “I believe that Jesus rose from the dead, and therefore the question does not arise.”
When it comes to a fact, you can’t be pessimistic or optimistic, only believing or unbelieving. If we really believe in the resurrection of Jesus, it changes everything. It means God’s new world has already begun, that the final victory of love over evil is assured, and thus we are enabled to freely throw ourselves into being involved in what God is doing right now.