In this episode, Jonathan and David tackle a question that feels increasingly urgent: Why should we have hope?

After a season of speaking at conventions around the country, Jonathan noticed something surprising. Again and again, people told him that his message felt hopeful. Not because he was ignoring problems, but because he was speaking about them in a way that left room for redemption. That reaction revealed something deeper: many Christians are surrounded by messages that clearly diagnose what’s wrong with the world but rarely explain why we should believe things can be redeemed.

The conversation explores how hopelessness can grow when we constantly consume news, social media, and cultural commentary that focuses on decline without offering a larger story. Jonathan argues that Christians have sometimes forgotten an essential truth: there has never been a golden age. Every generation since Eden has faced serious sin, suffering, and cultural brokenness.

But the episode doesn’t stop there. Jonathan and David also highlight the remarkable ways the world has improved over time—from dramatic reductions in extreme hunger to longer life expectancy, better health care, and broader access to clean water. These realities don’t erase evil, but they do challenge the idea that everything is getting worse in every possible way.

Ultimately, the episode points to a deeper foundation for hope: Christians fight against brokenness not because they believe they will fix the world by their own efforts, but because they believe God will ultimately redeem it, and they get to participate in that work.

The world is broken. That isn’t new.

What’s new is forgetting that brokenness has never had the final word.

Christian hope isn’t optimism that ignores reality, it’s confidence that God is redeeming reality, even when we can’t yet see the finished work.

As always,

Be Unbound

Contact: [email protected]

Learn more about Unbound: https://beunbound.us/

Hosts: Jonathan Brush, David Rethemeyer

Producer: Tamma Phillips

Assistant Producers:

Adonijah Ayele

Isabella Blevins

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