Some people look forward to the future with gloom and doom. It is the same as the people who see a glass "half-empty," rather than "half-full." I believe that we need to approach the future with a positive, affirmative and determined approach, rather than a negative, critical and gloomy approach. We need to face the future with wisdom and faith.

Faith involves believing that there is a plan in place for everyone. Life isn't a gamble. It isn't a matter of chance. Life isn't a sophisticated game of "Russian Roulette." It is a matter of believing in a design, a plan, a purpose that underlies everything and every life.

Those advocates of "pure chance" who are sometimes called Evolutionists and find in Charles Darwin a "patron saint" haven't come to realize what the great scientist and author knew and expressed in his famous book, The Origin of Species.

Darwin acknowledged in that famous volume in the closing paragraph the significance of this vital principle of design, plan and purpose as it relates to a Creator.

Darwin wrote, "There is a grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fix law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved."

There is an order, form, purpose and structure in life. This "law" is a vital part of our understanding of life and how we relate to one another in society. This goes beyond a matter of faith to become a very important part of our thinking and reasoning about life. It impacts how to do things and what we say about life. It certainly impacts our learning and expressing our ideas and thoughts.

Because there is this reality in life we can take heart in our personal lives and relationships. There is purpose in life rooted in how things came to be and why they are.

Faith involves not only believing in how things came into being and why they are here at all. It also involves believing in one another and sharing with one another.

The person who believes is more likely to be the person who willingly helps others and encourages them. The person of faith is the person who strives to do better and wants to excel in life. If we are to have a future we need to affirm what we believe and that we believe in those around us.

Then we need to face the future with wisdom. Wisdom is a very important part of our education. Wisdom is the good use of what we learn. It is wise use of knowledge.

Many people have a wealth of "book learning," but they don't' have any "common sense." They are not wise. They don't know how to apply what they learn in real-life situations.

We need to learn in our educational experience that knowledge can be used. We can learn to do better and to use what we know.

Life changes. It is never the same. Behind the flow of change is the constant of a plan, a purpose and a guiding hand. There is one who is in charge of things and He is guiding things to a conclusion. Life isn't a matter of chance. It is a matter of reason and law. There is accountability. We are accountable to the One who designed all things and who is sustaining them and directing them.

We must face the future with a better attitude, a gentler spirit, a kinder, gentler presence. Wisdom and faith together can assist us in becoming better and more productive people.

We have a lot that we can do and that we ought to do. The future is before us. We need to make the most of who we are, what we have, and while we are here, producing artistic and beautiful things for the benefit of all people.

The future is coming. We must face it. We cannot avoid it. Each moment moves us closer to the conclusion of all things. As there was a beginning, so there will be an end.

As we face the future, we ought to take heart, affirm one another, and see the design that has gone into what exists. So let us recognize what we have and who we are and thereby give thanks for both who we are and what we have. In all of these things we must learn to face our future with optimism and positive thoughts.

I hope that you will determine to have faith, to encourage those around you in your world and in your words. If you have comments or observations on what we have to be faithful and wise, I would like to hear from you and will appreciate you sharing your thoughts and ideas with me. You may contact me by e-mail at jhopkins@etbu.edu or drjerryhopkins@yahoo.com. I can also be reached by "snail mail" at Dr. Jerry Hopkins, East Texas Baptist University, 1209 North Grove Street, Marshall, Texas 75670, or by phone at 903-923-2087.