Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.
1 Timothy 1:1
Words, like automobiles, seem to wear out and lose their value over time. The modern definition of “hope” is very different from what it used to mean when the Bible was being written. Today, the term conveys wishful thinking, the desire for a certain thing to happen or wanting circumstances to change. One could say “I hope I win the lottery” or “Let’s hope that no one is hurt in the tornado.” People today hope for things that have no guarantee and usually the odds are greatly against getting what is hoped for.
Biblical hope is practically the opposite of contemporary hope, because it’s a sure thing. It is a feeling of trust based on the promises of God and is the object of long term faith. True hope is extreme confidence that everything God said will happen, will happen. This hope allows a Christian to remain strong in his faith, even though some promises are not fulfilled in his lifetime.
“Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Romans 8:23-25).
Jesus Christ is Our Hope and all His promises are good as gold. Salvation from the power of sin and immediate self-destruction begins now, but much of what we have to look forward to is future (i.e. home in heaven, glorified body, beholding the glory of God, etc.). Jesus said that there will be trials and persecutions and they certainly have come and they give credence that the rest of His promises will also be fulfilled. If Christ came to this world to die in our place, all the other promises are not that hard for Him to perform (Romans 8:32), so the Lord becomes Our Hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).
November 28
