And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint… Romans 5:3-5
List Your Hopes
So what are you hoping for? A new job? A new spouse? An improved house? What makes your hope-list? Maybe your hope is for someone else; your child perhaps, that he or she will succeed in college, find a suitable mate, a career, and so on and so forth. I submit to you that we should toss them all aside, for these are not hopes, at least by Biblical standards. Please keep reading.
Throw Them All Away, Save One
Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m not throwing away all my hopes. That’s an absurd notion.” Well the truth be told, I’m not suggesting you purge yourself of all hopes, but advising that you get rid of all of them save one—the hope of eternal life with our Lord and Savior in Heaven. Why? Because that singular hope is the only one that will never disappoint. To help us gain a better grasp of the concept, consider this quote from Pete Warren, a Christian Musician residing now in Nashville, TN.
Hope Was the Enemy
“It resonates with me conceptually, because I’ve lived it. I recall over a decade ago, my then wife left me for another man. I had this false hope it’d all work out. I thought it was hope in God, but it was not. I got over it fairly quickly. I realized that “hope (outside of our Heavenly hope) was the enemy.”
To that we might say, “But what about when things work out for the good?”
What the Lord through His word is teaching is that it is reasonable to aspire towards these things, like a good marriage or a better job, but we are not to put our hope in these things for in due time they will all come to an end—even if they end on a good note, end they will.
Consider the hope-list you made earlier. What would you foresee your circumstances if none of them came to pass? Would it be a crushing blow to the person you perceive yourself to be or are you the type to shake it off and commence to fashion new hopes? To what end I’d ask you—to what end–to be disappointed again?
I cannot begin to tell you how many testimonies I’ve heard from Christian athletes who strived and hoped to attain the highest awards their vocations tendered—and got them! We’re talking Olympic Gold Medals, World Series trophies, and Super Bowl rings. Their earthly hopes were realized and inevitability do you know what they all said? Afterwards, after the trophies were stashed away and the cameras were turned off, there was barrenness; a hope–less void. Their achieved hope, they soon discovered, had no sustaining qualities. In many instances, the only saving grace was that in their despair, they came to know Jesus Christ.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:30
I submit to you that if your walk with Jesus Christ is not light and easy, the most-likely cause is that you have more than One hope in your life. Think about it. Have you ever said or thought of your Christian faith as hard?
“I share the Good News with my friends, ” you say, “and they roll their eyes. At work people avoid me and make comments behind my back. Let’s not even talk about my family.”
What Were You Hoping For?
When you make a statement like that, chances are you have put to much hope in your friends, your family, and other relationships. Unquestionably we aspire to have good associations with others, but when they falter, do we falter as well? We most certainly will if that’s where our hope lies. The doctrine the Lord is putting forth is this: if we are determined to have one singular focus, that is One Hope, the yoke of Jesus will always be easy, the burden, although still a burden, will be light and we will not be disappointed.
Can you cope with just one hope? The maturing Christian can.
He Dwells -- The B'log in My Eye 