11/12

Hope is another sign of a true Christian (or true religion).

Hope is something that keeps all people going when they feel weak. If you are running a race, the thing that will keep you going when you get that side cramp is the hope that you will finish alive. It keeps people strong. Check out Hebrews 6:11-12.

The Bible has a lot to say about hope.

First and foremost, God tells us what not to put our hope in, (Psalm 146:3-4, Psalm 33:16-17). The first part is we ultimately do not put our hopes in man. These verses even tell us why, Man is not strong enough. The best of men fail. The best of men lie. The best of men eventually die. We cannot put all our hope and trust in them.

If any and every man is not strong enough, then who do we hope in? Read the verses that are right after the previous ones (Psalm 146:5-7, Psalm 33:18-19). God is the creator over all. He is big enough to hope in. Not only is he strong enough, but read those verses again. They tell us that he is just and gracious. He is big enough to hope in.

So the who to hope in is God not man. But what do we hope for? Here is what the Bible says, 1 Peter 1:3-5.

First God's mercy gives us the opportunity to be born again. Because Jesus did not rot in the grave, if we are in him, we will not stay in the grave either. At the end of it all, we can receive the inheritance that is "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading," waiting for you in heaven. Do we deserve this, heck no techno. But that is part of God's grace.

Take heart and take hope. Do not hope in the promises of man. The utopia's they envision will never be fully fulfilled. Man cannot bring about heaven. The justice of this earth is limited. Hope in the one true living God who will never fail, who fulfills every promise, who is big and powerful enough to accomplish his work. He will never die. Hope in Jesus who leads the way to heaven. Hope in the inheritance he provides at the end of it all. Trust in his grace for he is good.