Hope
Hope…the light that pierces the darkness, breaking the black glass into millions of pieces as it shatters to the floor letting the warmth of life fill the atmosphere. Hope is the very abstract concept that tears open the dismal walls of our despair.
Hope that keeps a human striving for another breath, for another chance to live a life that just might have a purpose in a cursed world. Hope in a world that is broken, cold, lonely, and searching for something to give meaning in man’s suffering. Hope amid the holiday season where joy and pain collide like two stars in the sky leaving man confused with tear-filled eyes just longing for “a silent night, a holy night, where all is calm, and all is bright.”
Hope…where can man find hope? Hope that does not die with the changing season…hope that lasts through every situation…hope that is beyond man’s full comprehension…hope when there seems to be no reason to hope.“Some would say they have some kind of hope, but can they put their faith in that hope?”
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Some would say they have some kind of hope, but can they put their faith in that hope?
As believers we can say we do, for 1 Peter 3:15 speaks of declaring to others the hope within believers to all those who inquire of it. The Christian’s hope is beyond wishful thinking. It is faith that believes that what is hoped for will come to be.
Hope makes believers look forward to the days ahead, even if they know that a life of service to the King is not an easy one. Their hope is not in the present, but in the future – in the things that they know will come to pass because of the Father’s promises.
As Christmas comes and passes, and the New Year does the same as every other year that has taken place, what then keeps man to persevere in the hardships of life? I would answer this with hope.
However, there is a difference between the hope of believers and the hope of unbelievers. The unbeliever’s hope stands on shifting sand; the believer’s hope stands upon a rock that withstands wind, rains, and whatever else may come its way.
Hope for the unbeliever is wishful thinking, based upon their depraved, fleshly desires that can never be truly satisfied. It is as if they are hungry wolves seeking just another prey – whether it be money or fame – to keep their appetite at bay from destroying their last ounce of sanity that keeps them living here on earth.
They act like zombies seeking whatever meets their new fancy. To be sure, unbelievers have hope, but theirs is not a lasting hope. As such, when unbelievers cannot find hope fast enough, they slowly die. Some even take their own lives or become lifeless, merely masquerading as if they were living.“Hope was given to man not just on Christmas Day; it was given to Adam and Eve right before they were banished from the Garden of Eden.”
Without hope, such people sink into despair. As the abyss opens wide to engulf them they know and feel desperation. It’s like a ticking bomb ready to go off. So they search and search for hope that lasts, that never burns out, and never dies; yet they cannot find it for it is beyond mere earthly desires.
The hope that these unsaved souls seek is the Messiah, the long-awaited one that the prophets of old foretold. Believers know that this Messiah, Jesus Christ, came into the world.
Not only that, he died upon the cursed tree and set men free from being enslaved to their flesh, depravity, and their wickedness. He died to restore them to their Father.
This is the hope that lights the darkness that brings men from insanity to sanity, from slavery to freedom, from being orphans to princes and princesses, from separation from their Maker to communion with Him.
This is the hope, this is the Gospel that Jesus commanded believers to share and that Peter reminds them to be prepared to share as the only true and lasting hope for the world.
Hope is not meant only for Christmas, as if it were some box we open on Christmas day but then put back after the holiday.
No! Hope was given to man not just on Christmas Day; it was given to Adam and Eve right before they were banished from the Garden of Eden. (Gen. 3:15)
The promise of the Messiah which brings hope for the restoration to come was promised to them, then Abraham was given the promise, then David was given the promise, and so forth through the generations until that one night where angels sang and told the shepherds the long-awaited Messiah had come into the world.
Let us share that hope this Christmas, the hope that does not die with the changing seasons, that gives men a reason to keep living, and have communion with their King.
This is the hope that men search for and is here just waiting to be proclaimed no matter the day or hour; it is here…hope is right here.
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