Hope Springs Eternal
Christian hope doesn’t mean being a glass-half-full kind of person, or simply hoping for the best all the time. It means believing God’s promises and waiting patiently for them to be fulfilled. Christians are, by definition, hopeful people. This hope is produced in us by God’s promises; they are the lens through which we view the world and our own circumstances. When Paul says that love “hopes all things”, he means that we have an underlying confidence that, even when life is at its worst, God is walking alongside us and will continue to bless us, just as he has promised.
Paul faced plenty of hardship during his life; in his second letter to the church in Corinth, he wrote of the “countless beatings” he suffered for the gospel cause (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). Sinclair writes, “Paul was a realist, especially about the tough times he faced as a Christian. Yet he makes the striking claim that ‘hope does not put us to shame’; it doesn’t let us down or disappoint us. Why? Because ‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us’ (Romans 5:5).”
As Christians, our biggest hope is for eternal life with God. The certainty of this future changes everything about life now; it helps us to see the way through any darkness we might face. From heaven, a place of perfect love, God sends his Spirit into our hearts. Because of this, we know we are loved, and can be sure of our place in heaven.
By sending Jesus, God kept his oldest and costliest promise: Jesus came as the promised serpent-crusher of Genesis 3:15, destroying the power of the devil, but his victory came at the cost of his life. If God was pleased to keep this promise, we can be sure he will keep every promise he has made. Sinclair writes, “[God’s] love is the foundation not only for faith but also for hope. And that hope lasts; it will never fail. It is a hope that we can hold on to even when we are suffering, even when life seems to be unravelling at the seams, even when our worst nightmares are coming true. We can still have hope…”
Today, think about what difference the certain hope of heaven will make to how you live and who you love. Thank God for keeping his biggest, oldest and costliest promise by sending Jesus to die for you.
Love Came Down at Christmas by Sinclair B. Ferguson (published by The Good Book Company) available to buy at Eden Christian Bookstore or Amazon.