A Living Hope

How can we have hope in the midst of a broken world and an uncertain future? 

When the world seems to crumble around us, pain and evil abound, and our future is insecure at best and barreling toward destruction at worst, some may wonder if hope is even possible. 

Some find hope by trying to be generous toward others or making the world a better place. Others ignore the dark state of things and soothe themselves with pleasures of the moment. Others just embrace the hopelessness, give into despair, and accept the bleak outlook of the world and their future. 

But Christians have hope. Hope is not a desperate wish, some a warped delusion, or an unlikely aspiration. Christian hope is a confident trust, an eager expectation.

Hope in Christ is a living hope. 

“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, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
1 Peter 1:3-5

The God of Jesus Christ is our great God and Father too. Because of his great mercy and love, he has taken us from death to life. He has caused us to be born again to a living hope. We are born again through the resurrection of Jesus. Through faith we are raised with Christ, so his resurrection brings our new birth. We are born again into eternal life with God – an inheritance that can’t decay, wear out, or spoil. Our inheritance is being kept in heaven and guarded by God’s power. This is our hope, and this hope is alive!

Biologists will tell you that all living things share at least five characteristics. These are true of our hope as well. 

1. Grow: All living things change, grow, and increase in size. If your hope is not continually growing and increasing, your hope may not be in the right place. Your certain expectation that God is at work should be continually growing. 
2. Consume: All life needs some source of energy. Plants soak up the sun; some animals eat plants; some animals eat other animals. You have to feed your hope. If you let it go unfed, it will wither and die. Your hope feeds on Christ. As you spend time with him through the Word, worship, and prayer, Christ feeds you and nourishes your hope. 
3. Move: Of course animals move, but even plants will move in response to some external stimuli. They’ll move toward what provides life and move away from what harms it. A plant will grow toward the sun and send out its roots toward water. Your hope should respond to your environment; when a difficulty or crisis arises, it should move away from what can steal your hope and move toward God who can provide hope. 
4. Reproduce: All life makes more of itself. Is your hope reproducing in the lives of those you love? Is your hope being passed on to friends and neighbors? This is a sure sign of Christ-filled, living hope. 
5. Die – All living things will one day die. All life ends – but not our hope! On this point, the similarities with biological life end. Our hope is eternal! 

Yes, life is hard. Suffering abounds. The world can be a dark place. Temptation and sin are around every corner. But we have a hope! We have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!