True Hope is Available
What are you looking forward to right now? A new season? An upcoming vacation? A sporting event? A family gathering? Human hope is future oriented, focused on something uncertain with the desire for a positive outcome.
We have expressions for a sort of hope that is extremely unlikely to succeed. (Wishful thinking. Daydreaming. Living in a fantasy world. Pie in the sky. Empty wish. Hope against hope). We know the excitement that comes with hope, but we also know the heartbreak that comes with unfulfilled hope. Charles Spurgeon pointedly remarks that “Without Christ there is no hope.”
If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
1 Corinthians 15:19-21 ESV
Our lives are short and can often full of pain and disappointment. For someone who treasures Jesus, underlying joy is found in the fact that no matter the suffering and discouragement of this life, they have a hope that does not die with them. A Christian’s hope is not rooted in the here and now, but is oriented towards a future encounter with their resurrected Savior.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:3-5 ESV
Praise God for providing us a certain and guaranteed future! As Martin Luther said, "In our sad condition our only consolation is the expectancy of another life.” Have you been disappointed or discouraged recently? Let’s resolve to set our minds and heart on Jesus’ certain return and our guaranteed victory with Him. “Amen. Come Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)