THE BELIEVER’S HOPE
What’s your sole reason for being a Christian? Is it about the fact that it offers you the opportunity to put on the expensive makeup and beautiful clothes on Sundays especially? Or is it also about the fact that you reconnect with your friends after a seeming long week? In any case, have you heard anything about the believer’s hope? That hope which soothes the believer’s heart even in times of struggles, challenges, hurts and what have you? Let’s first understand what hope is:
Hope isn’t the same as wishful thinking. Hope is deeper than wish. Hope has to do with looking into the future, a future that you don’t see but believe in. Hope entails long-suffering, patience, taking one step at a time and reaching out to what awaits you. As Christians, we hold a strong belief that we’ve a place to go after death and that’s our greatest HOPE.
Bible describes the Christian as a chosen generation, royal priesthood, an holy nation, thus, the Christian cannot do certain things as anyone does. Why? Because we’re a peculiar people. In the verse 28 of our anchor scripture Paul says “to this end I labor and struggle with all my energy, which so powerfully works in me.” This means our hope is in nothing less than Jesus Christ our righteousness. Let’s not live our lives as if there’s no tomorrow. Let’s not live our lives as if there’s no future; as if there’s no place to go after death.
Many Christians have backslidden because they’ve become ‘world-conscious’ instead of ‘heaven-conscious’. The believer’s hope is on heavenly things not on earthly things. The believer’s hope is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ (read 1 Peter 3:3-5. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, and 1 Corinthians 15:4). There’s a place to go after life on earth. Even people who along the line have died in Christ will still rise to meet the Lord when that day comes. The same spirit that resurrected Christ is the same spirit that will resurrect us even when we die in Christ (see 1 Corinthians 15:20).
Sometimes life becomes murky and you tend to question your faith in God. You begin to question if really He existed at all. But my friend, God did not promise us a trouble free life. Rather a life that is filled with tribulations and persecutions. What keeps us moving and fighting through all challenges is our hope in Jesus Christ (read 1 Timothy 4:10, and 1 Timothy 1:1, Acts 2:26, Romans 5:2, Romans 15:13).
Bible admonishes that we fight for our salvation with fear and trembling. We should not live our lives to please anyone but Jesus Christ only because it is in Him that our hope is and our hope is meaningless if we don’t have any fear for Him.
Are we willing to partake in the great feast in heaven or willing to wail and gnash our teeth in hell? Have we ever imagined how the whole episode will be spending eternity in either heaven or hell? If you die today, where are you going? Or if Christ comes today, where will you be? But now that we’ve the liberty, the freedom to worship Christ in truth and in spirit, what are we waiting for? Although death is not the end of it all, in death there’s no turning back to reconcile with Jesus Christ.
If you are not born again, you cannot have the believer’s hope in you. Therefore you need to be born again and the time is NOW.
(Also read Isaiah 38:18, Colossians 1:27, Titus 2:13, 1 John 3:3, Hebrews 10:27, Hebrews 10:31, John 3:18).
Prayer:
Heavenly Father we thank You for word. Lord revive our hope in You. Cause us remembrance in us always about what awaits us when we leave the earth. Strengthen us to live righteous for You only, in Jesus Christ name. Amen.