“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” I Peter 1:3
Everybody needs hope. It’s vital to our daily lives. Without hope, life is depressing and discouraging, but with hope, life is promising and optimistic. When hope is absent, the heart longs to be injected with a super-dose of hope. Yet, it’s in dire circumstances that hope appears to be impossible. Like a yo-yo, hope tends to rise when life is good and drop when life is hard. But is that the life Jesus died for us to have?
Now, hope has to do with the future…expectation, anticipation, and confidence that something good can happen. It’s not wishful thinking but a confident belief it’s possible. First, we must recognize there are two types of hope: worldly hope and Christian hope. Worldly hope is based on temporal things, like people, places, material items, or circumstances. Placing hope in the temporal eventually leads to hopelessness because temporal things aren’t meant to last. Time destroys this kind of hope. It fades and dies. And the yo-yo effect of hope continues.
On the other hand, Christian hope is anchored in eternal things – the Word of God and Jesus Christ. Peter calls this hope a living hope (I Peter 1:3) because it’s rooted in the living Word of God (I Peter 1:23) and the living Son of God (I Peter 1:3). The word living implies life. To be alive means to continue, to endure, and to remain. As time passes, the hope of the believer grows stronger and stronger. Living hope distinguishes believers from non-believers. Through Christ’s resurrection, Christians possess an unshakable hope for the future. A confident assurance that better things are on the horizon. Not just here on earth but awaiting us in heaven on that great day when we meet Him face to face.
Let’s be honest: life is tough, and seasons of hopelessness will come. During a down season, we can go back to I Peter 1:3 and remember God’s great mercy by giving thanks for Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus died and rose again to give us a living hope. Not a yo-yo, worldly hope, but confident assurance that we’ve been born again. This new life will not fail, fade, or die. It’s a free grace gift given to us through Christ. We did nothing to earn our new life in Him, and nothing can take it away. Soaking in this wonderful truth can turn a hopeless day into a hope-filled day because our future is secure in Him.
REFLECT
Look back over the last 30-60 days. Has your hope bounced up and down like a yo-yo? What practical thing can you do to anchor yourself in living hope instead?
Many Blessings,
JJ
Average Christian Gal Who Loves Jesus & the Bible
