The Christian Hope
The Bible defines Christian hope as “sure expectation” (Hebrews 11:1). Without hope life is meaningless. Some attempt to satisfy their earthly hopes by pleasure, success, riches, relationships, or fame. But they despair when they still experience hopelessness. Solomon, felt this empty void and cried, “Meaningless! Meaningless! …Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). However, the Holy Spirit gave him the cure to his void. And he declared: “He (God) has also set eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecclesiastes 3:11; Romans 15:13). Man knows that the “here-and-now” is not all that there is. There is a deep desire in his heart to have a relationship with the Creator.
The Christian hope is built on God and the promises of His Word (Psalm 42:11; 119:114). And the Lord is faithful to His promises (Hebrews 10:23). For “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:41 also Psalm 121:7-8). But sometimes, the believer needs to be patient as he waits for his wishes to become a reality (Micah 7:7; Romans 8:25; Lamentations 3:24).
Along with faith and love, hope is a lasting virtue of the Christian life (1 Corinthians 13:13). The Lord is eager to fill His children with hope, joy and peace, which are all the results of true faith and of the presence of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:1-4; Galatians 5:22). Where these fruits of the Spirit are found, there will be love to God and harmony among the believers (Romans 5:2).
The Gift of Life
At Creation the Lord gave man life to achieve the following: (1) Fellowship with Him (Genesis 1:26). (2) Have good relationships with others (Genesis 2:18-25). (3) Work (Genesis 2:15). (4) Have dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26). But with man’s fall into sin (Genesis 3), fellowship with God was cut, relationships with others suffered, work is challenging, and man struggles to maintain dominion over the world.
It’s only by restoring the fellowship with God that hope and meaning in life can be found (Acts 4:12; John 1:12; 14:6). The real meaning of our existence begins when we follow Christ as His disciples, listen to His voice through the scriptures, talk to Him in prayer, and walk in obedience to His commands. Thus, Eternal life starts when we repent of our sins and allow Christ to give us new hearts (Psalm 34:8) and believe that He has great plans prepared for us here on earth – abundant life (John 10:10) – and in the life to come.
The Eternal Hope of Glory
Eternal life is the objective of the true Christian, who builds his life on the principles of “the truth” (Titus 1:1-2). The hope of Christ’s resurrection, gives the believer the assurance of his resurrection at the second coming (1 Peter 1:3). The hope of eternity motivates him to cleanse his heart (1 John 3:3) with God’s help (Philippians 2:12, 13). This work needs serious watching and prayer (Ephesians 6:13–18; Colossians 4:2; Revelation 3:3). Thus, Christ’s victory becomes the believer’s victory through faith (Galatians 2:20; Philippians 4:13).
Finally, Christian hope, being a wish for something and an expectation of getting it, will by its very nature be a part of the experience in heaven, where there will ever be new adventures for God’s children to explore and new delights for them to enjoy (1 Corinthians 2:9). All the treasures of heaven cannot be experienced at once by the saints, and as long as there is anything that is to be wished and expected for the future, hope will exist (1 Corinthians 2:9).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
