Sweet Hope!

Hope is a wonderful attitude. Even the ordinary idea of hope, as in “I hope it will happen” drives people forward and gives them focus. The biblical version of hope is even better.

Once I had to write a paper on biblical hope. I was stuck. How can this certainty combined with anticipation be described? Then, in the parking lot of the Bible college I was attending, I got out of my vehicle to the smell of cinnamon buns. It was lovely. My mouth watered as I thought about biting into one. As I walked to the cafeteria, I could not get my mind off what I was about to taste. The buns were there; all I needed to do was take one.

Then I realized this eagerness to possess and enjoy a delicious cinnamon bun was like hope! God promises certain things to me. The reality of them is as sure as God is faithful, and even though I do not possess or experience them at this moment, hope knows that whatever God promises, it is mine, just waiting for me like a gift, like a cinnamon bun.

The apostle Peter wrote to a group of Christians who were suffering persecution to the point they had been scattered throughout the known world. They were no doubt discouraged at times, and needed reminders about the faithfulness of God. Peter wrote many things to help them remember His care for them. In 1 Peter 1:3-6, he wrote this:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

For these downtrodden people, he reminded them that their hope was eternal life. This life would be full of trials and difficulties because they lived in a sinful world. Even though some people who rejected Jesus rejected them also, yet God would shield and protect them. They could focus on Him and His promises. Remembering their inheritance was their comfort in distress.

My study Bible lists several realities about biblical hope that show how this hope different from that “I hope so” attitude that only works for a little while. In contrast to our human hope, biblical hope is based on eternal promises made by God Himself. It is a “confident optimism” that comes from faith in God, and both hope and this faith are gifts of grace. No one can conjure up faith or hope without first knowing Jesus Christ and having eternal life.

Hope is defined by Scripture, not by what I want to happen. It is a reality that was secured by Jesus Christ when He rose from the dead. Imagine what Christianity would be without the resurrection! We would have no hope. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead is key to God’s promises concerning my eternal inheritance.

Hope is also confirmed by the Holy Spirit. In my flesh I can easily become hopeless. If I look down at my own inadequacies or out toward the world and the mess it is in, my hope flies out the window. Yet the Holy Spirit continually reminds me that this life is not all there is, and no matter what is going on here, Jesus has secured eternity for me. What He does in my heart is like that smell that told me the cinnamon bun is mine!

Hope is also my defense against Satan’s attacks. He might accuse me of many things, but since eternal life is a gift from God secured at the Cross, my hope is secure. It does not depend on me. Heaven awaits and there is nothing Satan can do or say that will change that reality.

Hope is also confirmed through trials. Suppose I was detoured on my trip from my car to the cafeteria. That would not erase the fact that the buns were there waiting for me. Suppose I fell and broke my leg. They don’t go away, nor does the small of them. The trials may actually increase my sense of hope, even though the fulfilment seems thwarted.

Whatever happens in this life, my hope will be fulfilled when Jesus returns. Titus 2:11-13 says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

These verses offer a bonus in that God instructs me how to live until that time, yet lest this sounds too “sober” and this life becomes too difficult, hope also produces joy. Psalm 146:5 says, “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.”

It was more than twenty years ago, but I can still remember that first whiff of those cinnamon buns and the smile it put on my face. If the smell of a mere bit of sugar and spice can make me happy, so much more does whiff of eternity.

My inheritance is secure. It is a gift from my God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. He gives me great anticipation and joy while I eagerly wait and hope for the fulfilment of all that He has promised!