It’s strange. I am a man who prides himself on being up-to-date on current affairs, the latest political happenings, the breaking news, but recently I’ve noticed a change. I’ve noticed my eyes skimming over the headlines like oil across a hot pan; seeing, but not reading, looking, but not taking in. And the more I think about it, the more I realise it is happening, not out of laziness, but out of self-preservation. The last few years have been hard on all of our mental health, and still every day brings word of a new tragedy – war in Ukraine, in the Holy Land, police and political corruption here and abroad, climate change, the headlines are unrelentingly bleak. In situations like these, where can we find hope?

A couple of weeks ago I attended an event at the Ilkley Literature Festival where my boss, the Bishop of Leeds, was asked how he finds hope in his Christian faith. Bishop Nick told us about his faith that despite all the mess and horror of the world, God is sovereign, and he – not evil – will have the last word. It’s a comforting, reassuring prospect, the ultimate light at the end of the tunnel. But the knowledge that God will one day make everything right doesn’t always help here and now, when people are struggling and suffering today. How can our hope be for now as well as for the future? For that, I turn to the wisdom of that great theologian Belinda Carlisle:

“Ooh, baby, do you know what that’s worth? Ooh, Heaven is a place on Earth.

They say in Heaven, love comes first. We’ll make Heaven a place on Earth!”

One day, I believe, God will come to make all things right, but until then we can do our bit to bring heaven to earth by showing practical love and kindness to those around us. By giving food to homeless people, shelter to refugees or companionship to lonely neighbours we can bring a little bit of heaven to earth, an act of rebellion against a world where hope and kindness seem increasingly rare. It is a down payment against the hope that is to come, a statement of confidence that Good News will come and better days are ahead.

And really, whether or not we have faith, don’t we all need some encouragement right now that even bad news doesn’t last forever?