Hope is not a political talking point.

• 148,000 plus acres burnt


• 50 homes lost


• 13.6 million dollars in damages


• 2 Fire fighters lost forever

Wednesday morning I awoke to the heavy down-fall of ash, like a snow storm, and a thick blanket of smoke that choked out the sun. The Station fire, one of many fires burning in California at the time,was rapidly approaching our valley, and at the same time has rapidly brought the nature of man to the forefront of my mind.

The cause of the Station fire was just recently ruled arson; this destructive fire was started via the hands of man. Fire that has brought about destruction and devastation. Fire that has ripped apart families, and left them broken forever. Fire that brought about the death of two firefighters, two men who will never return home to their families. That absolutely breaks my heart. Fire that has ruined homes, neighborhoods and whole communities. Fire set by a living, breathing human being- something that I can not fully understand, other then that man is a fallen being. Man is sinful, setting fires, sinning, is human nature and that is the bottom line. The same evil streak that is present in the station fire arsonist is also present in our representatives in Sacramento, Washington D.C. and beyond. They both have one thing in common-their sin nature. The quality that drove a man to start the station fire, that has caused untold destruction, is existent in our beloved politicians. Yet we as citizens expect perfection from our demigod like politicians. We expect them to be able to fix all the ills of our fallen society; to end poverty, end war, end hate, create heaven on earth. WHO ARE WE KIDDING?

It seems to me that politician after politician have come along and proclaim that they are the new hope. Hope that is going to re-write the system and make it all right. Time and time again we choose to put our faith in man to fix problems that no man can fix. Poverty is the result of the fall, violence is the result of the fall, death is the result of the fall, and no matter how brilliant the politician they will never be able to fix the problems of sin. I think it is an atrocity when we as people continue time and time again, to put our hope in man to fix the problem of the fall. When instead we should be putting our faith and trust in the one true hope of the world- Jesus Christ.