On this side of eternity, on this side of death, and on this side of all the answers that await us to discover we have hope. We are not wishing good things to be sometime in the future. We are grounding ourselves in historical truth. We grasp onto the realities that extend from this world to the next. Our hope is not vague. It is expansive. It gives us strength when the giant of evil would stand in our way.
We have hope not because our imagination projects against the wall of spiritual opposition. What may come as opposition to any stability that we seek holds under us as pebbles on the road. Hope is necessary for a way of life for Christians. It’s a vital link with faith and charity. It is most significant when the ground begins to swell under us by the onslaught of what would cause doubt.
Our hope is not based on anything we decide. It is constructed from the remnant of an empty tomb. The resurrection of Jesus is so profound, so mind-boggling, so remarkable that it’s reality when relied upon can produce nothing but hope. We have accepted Christ as our Savior who is alive. Hope comes from his resurrection. When fully embraced in our minds and hearts, the resurrection of Jesus Christ transcends hope from human desire to the vision of what can be on the horizon.
Hope is a divine thing growing out of trust levied against the creative power of the Almighty from when he created the cosmos to the intervening for our needs. We have hope because he knows what is missing in our lives, what needs to be strengthened, where we need to be rescued. The Christian hope originates from the impossible to reality. We did not hope because we are desperate. The spiritual strength within us that we call hope has a direct connection to the Holy Spirit. We hope because we can hope. We hope as a result of seeing into the spirit world where Satan is conquered already and rewards await us.
Following the admonition of our text, we gird ourselves for how we think. Our hope is serious as we look to the end result of Christ’s work. We hope because we can hope as part of the unmerited favor that God has bestowed upon us. Hope is the bridge from what is to what will be ultimately when Jesus returns. This grace is an inheritance as a result of the death of the testator Jesus Christ. We do not hope because we want to hope. We hope because we are enabled to hope by the energizing force of the Great Creator.
Christian hope is the harvest reaped from the new birth in God. We have hope in Jesus that can have ourselves purified by him as he is pure. Our conviction redirects us back to the resurrection authority of the moment Jesus came out of the tomb. Because he has glory, our faith stands firm. You and I can enjoy a different way of life from all others who walk the world’s path. We are a new creation centered on his power, on his ability to fulfill what claims we find in hope. Christian hope is unlike any other hope that humans may possess. It has its own outward movement from our pain and disorientation.
Hope is what helps us to enjoy his mercy. It is what blesses us in time of need. It is what reminds us of his abundance. Hope sees our lack while recognizing God’s bounty. Because his hope provided us better than the world’s wishes, we have a directness to him whatever else may be in the spiritual atmosphere. Our soul is anchored by hope. The reality of hope when applied to our lives offers strong consolation for those who flee to him. As his house that he has built, we are held fast by the confidence of hope giving us joy. Together his grace has justified us to be heirs of eternal life. In all things his love has given us hope whatever is before us and whatever is behind us.
Because our soul is anchored in the Lord Jesus Christ, we remember patiently whatever work of faith and labor of love that desires us to do in God’s sight. We are not merely religious people. We are people called out of the world. We are a select people ordained to reflect the good nature of our heavenly father. As we hope, we are investing our individual rewards in heaven based on the truth of the good news of the gospel. As believers, we are privileged to be part of the one body of Christ enjoying his one calling that relies on the hope of his call out of the world into his family. We seek a divine understanding so that we might be enlightened about the hope of his calling. Let us, therefore, enjoy God’s peace because we believe and because the power of the Holy Spirit has expanded our hope.
We cannot allow ourselves just to be faithful about hoping for what God has in store. Our hope is based on his love administered by his Holy Spirit. When we are tempted not to hope is when we must hope most of all. Our hope is different from the world’s hope. Our hope is a target. It is a deposit of God’s good grace. It is the operation of that power that caused Christ’s resurrection. We trust in Jesus because he is the person of hope.
Christian Writer 