To Live is Christ — filled with hope

We lived in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for two and a half years. My husband supervised the construction of a fertilizer plant and I went to Bible college, cramming a BRE degree into that time. The college was a few miles out of town so I drove there each day and parked behind one of the dorms.

If my classes were in the morning, as soon as I opened my car door I could smell cinnamon buns. These were a specialty in the kitchen and much loved by the students. That aroma came to mind as I read today’s devotional verse.

Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope. (1 Peter 3:15, CEV)

When someone says, “I sure hope so,” they generally use the word “hope” with no certainty. The word “wish” could easily be substituted. For that reason, the biblical idea of hope needs some explanation. It is more an “I know so” declaration than a tentative, “I hope so.”

At one point in my courses, I had to write a paper describing hope. I was stumped. Then one morning the smell of those cinnamon buns gave me an idea. I used that wonderful aroma for my illustration. I described how I arrived at school and I knew the buns were there. Although I could not see them or eat them, I had no doubt that they were real and waiting for me.

This is what biblical hope is like. My hope is eternal life. I know I have it because Jesus Christ has saved me from sin. I know that I will be with Him when I die. I cannot see this, nor can I experience this hope in tangible form.  Nevertheless, it is as real as anything I can see and touch.

Biblical hope is not perceived by the senses, so in this way it does differ from the smell of those cinnamon buns. Instead, it is based on the solid Word of God, which is tangible. Further, He does not lie, nor does He make promises and not keep them. Because He is totally reliable, when He says something is true, I know it is true.

I also know that the Bible is His promise. Human beings did not make it up. Who could or would come up with such ideas? All humans are sinners and doomed to perish? No one wants that to be true, but God says it is. All humans can be saved if they humble themselves and call on the Lord? No one wants that either. Our pride is more powerful than our desire to submit to such a thing.

It is also rationally outrageous that God would become a man and take our penalty for sin. Who would make that up? Or who would dream of a salvation that says we are strong when we are weak, and we can ask God for grace whenever we are in need? These things run contrary to the ordinary mind.

Yet God offers so much to those who will give their hearts to Him. He saved my soul, He changes me continually, challenges me to be like Jesus Christ (another outrageous idea), and gives me hope. In this life, I have pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, but He says that one day I will step into eternity and all my trials will be over. My hope will become sight.

I’m not sure if cinnamon buns are included, but I am certain that I will be totally contented with the place He is preparing for me.