A PEOPLE OF HOPE

“FOR WHAT IS OUR HOPE, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” – 1 Thessalonians 2:19

CHRISTIANS are meant to live as a PEOPLE of HOPE: “FOR WHAT IS OUR HOPE, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” (1Th.2:19). Paul did not write this epistle only so that we can draw elaborate prophecy charts or satisfy our eschatological curiosity. Rather, his concern was pastoral: that we may experience Hope and comfort in the Lord based on the certain promise of His coming. Paul assured the Thessalonian believers that living as a People of Hope was his own source of Hope and Joy. They were his “crown of rejoicing”!

It is a ‘given’ for Believers in Christ to have Hope. But we must be clear about what hope does and does not mean. It does not mean going through life with fingers crossed behind our backs in wishful thinking or fantasizing. The Believer’s Hope is more profound than to deal with mere mundane issues. It is grounded on the historical reality of Christ’s resurrection. Since Jesus rose to new life in glory, He guarantees that we His people will rise to new life in glory. Jesus leads the way, and so there’s no sense of uncertainty affecting our future. We’ve been promised an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

In contrast, the generality of the world lives in seemingly hopeless times. Depression is one of the most prevalent emotional disorders in modern society; and those who battle depression usually lack hope. The diversity of factors that fuel a lack of hope include: global, national, and local conditions of pervasive poverty; economic woes; unending pandemics; civil unrests; social vices – the drug culture, banditry, kidnappings, and killings; the spread of terrorism; the increase of godlessness all around; personal and marital disappointments; health concerns especially with increasing age; the loss of loved ones; and individuals’ imminent deaths. But the Bible wants us as believers to stand out as people of hope in this hopeless world.

God’s People of Hope: “glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, HOPE. Now HOPE does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom.5: 3-5). Paul specially commended the Thessalonians for their “PATIENCE of HOPE in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1The.1:3). He added that he had heard how they were waiting “for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1The.1:10). The certainty of Christ’s glorious coming gives us Hope and Comfort.

The troubles of the world foster weariness and dissonance in multitudes of souls, including those Christians who walk by sight. It is easier to walk by sight than by faith. However, when sight usurps faith, weariness swiftly becomes burn out, and dissonance erodes into hopelessness. Such believers readily forget who they are, what they represent, and their created purpose. We as Christians are a People of Hope. We have a Message of Hope and we are called to embody this Hope. This Living Hope gives us patience and confidence. This Hope fuels our perseverance. It assures us that the present cannot compare to the future. It reminds us that we must interpret the present in light of the promised future.

By the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit, we can envision and pursue a hope that is rooted in the future glory promised to us throughout Scripture. Although we live in a fallen world, we are called to function according to what will be. As God’s children, we should not be hopeless about what God is doing in this world because we know how it will all end – for His Praise and Glory, and our Joy!