Book in Review: Mere Hope

Mere Hope is a brief book about the growing cynicism of our time, which has most definitely seeped into our churches. Jason Duesing calls us to a renewed gospel hope rooted in its Savior who reigns inside of us.

A few years ago I detected in myself a malignant escapism growing in my spirit. I had then watched several friends of mine stray from the faith, and all around things seemed to be growing darker and darker. What my natural response was then, and at times is now, was to withdraw into the inner chambers, to lock the door with the handle and the bolt. With “no trespassing” signs on my lawn and a shotgun in my closet I would make it through. Even with gritted teeth, I would make it through.

Duesing’s book is a needed reminder to me that we have great cause for hope, and it is not in ourselves or in our determined mental makeup. He reminds us that we need to look down at our gospel hope, look at Christ’s reign within, look out at the hope for the nations, and look above to our future hope. His chapter on “Evangelical Stoicism” is perhaps my favorite chapter as it addressed my personal tendencies and short comings on this front.

While I found this book to be relevant to the times, and while I celebrated in Duesing’s many citations (pulling from many of my favorites: Lewis, Tolkien, Lloyd-Jones…etc), I found that as a whole it lacked a natural reader’s flow. I agree with Duesing on virtually every point: his evangelical priority and even his denial of limited atonement--and yet for some reason I left less inspired than I expected. I wonder if the book had been a little longer and a little less packed with citations, perhaps its thrust would have been more compelling.

Nevertheless, this is a good book that I will be sure to read again.