Monday, October 1, 2012

Think of These Things: Hope

I hope you are informed and challenged by this piece. That is my desire. Some of you may be more informed and challenged while others may not be. The word “hope” in my first sentence is used as a verb. In the Bible the word is sometimes used that way. But it is also used in the Bible as a noun meaning hope for the believer is a certainty, not just a desire.

The difference between these two usages is very important. I want to stress here the certainty and assurance that the child of God’s hope is God Himself.

Here are some of the passages where this is emphasized. The Psalmist wrote of God, “For you are my hope” (Ps. 71:5). Jeremiah the prophet called upon Jehovah-God Himself as “the hope of Israel” (Jer. 17:13). The apostle Paul called God “the God of hope” (Rom. 15:13). As he gave his testimony to the Colossian Christians, Paul made it very clear that Christ was their Hope. He reminded them that Christ Jesus who was in them was their Hope (Col. 1:27). To his young son in the faith Paul made sure that Timothy understood that Christ Himself was his and Timothy’s Hope (1 Tim. 1:1). To Titus, another one of the apostle’s converts, he wrote in anticipation of Christ’s return as the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). The believer’s Hope is a “living hope,” not simply his desire (1 Pet. 1:3).

So Christ is the believer’s Hope! What a wonderful truth that is. Think about it. We need not hope He is our hope. He already is the Hope of all who trust Him as their Sin-bearer.