The Bible concept of hope is clouded by our everyday use of that word. We hope our team wins, we hope for a nice day for outdoor activities, we hope we have enough resources to retire and we hope our country affords us the freedom to worship according to the Bible. This kind of hope is not at all like Bible hope.
Bible hope is a spiritual expectation based on God’s promises through the teachings and life of our savior Jesus Christ. We know that God keeps his promises and through faith we believe in Christ’s resurrection and His teachings. We accept the Word and the Way and try to live it each day. We know that God cannot lie, and He has promised eternal life (I Titus 1:2 and I John 2:25).
Still, many Christians struggle with the concept of hope. Sometimes believers find themselves wavering in their hope for eternal life. Perhaps the root of our struggle with hope relates to recognition of our unworthiness. We need to come to grips with the fact that we are grossly unworthy of the grace of God. We have salvation through God’s grace and what Jesus does for us, not upon our own merit. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:4). I recommend study of I John if you have doubt, since the reason for the book is to assure Christians that we have eternal life. “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God” (I John 5:13).
For the elders, Dave Benner