Bring on Tomorrow

Last night we watched a school production of ‘Fame’. I remembered the 1980 film, and TV series… actors, dancers, musicians progressing through college. After learning about themselves and each other, about performing, about life, they finally graduate and sing ‘Bring on Tomorrow’:

We have arrived at a moment in our lives
When the future passes into our hands
We will find out are we really strong enough
To fulfil what the future demands

I reflected on recent conversations… friends facing their future, anticipating, hoping… but with apprehension and uncertainty…

Young people working through college courses, planning their next career steps… A young woman who’s been through abuse, trauma and mental ill-health… A young couple expecting their first baby any day now… A woman in hospital recovering from a near-fatal car crash… A teacher with a job-interview this week…

Long, long ago in a world we never made
We were children who were making believe

The Fame graduates can’t return to how they used to be; my friends can’t return to life as it was. They can’t escape a future that’s uncertain but unavoidably different. They can stay anxious, passive and accepting or they can step forward with ‘Bring on Tomorrow’.

This morning, reading Deuteronomy… The Israelites have been in the desert for forty years; they’re about to enter their ‘Promised Land’. They’ve been through tough situations, but the future’s brighter –‘Bring on Tomorrow’!

Throughout the Biblical narrative it’s a continuing theme: however bad things seem today, there’s always hope. Jesus talked about his kingdom… a better life now and a better life to come… and the final picture of a new tomorrow – heaven and earth with no more tears, sadness or pain.  

Bring on tomorrow, Let it shine
Like the sun coming up on a beautiful day, It’s yours and mine

We can make a difference, It’s not too late
Bring on tomorrow, We can’t wait.

The ‘Bring on Tomorrow’ of Fame – and Jesus – is the message of optimistic hope that I can be part of.