Afterwords -- week 52
December 17, 2022
Dear friends,
Yesterday was the first day in a while that we've seen the sun rise. It came up each of these cloudy, rainy days, but we just didn't get to see it. Life felt gloomy, and I longed for the sunshine. There's a kind of despair that seems to accompany dark clouds. Living without hope is like living without sunshine.
We recently visited residents in a juvenile detention facility. We asked them to share some good Christmas memories, but not one resident had a happy memory to share, nor did it seem that they held much hope for the future. When I spoke, I told them I couldn't guarantee them a merry Christmas this year, or any year. But if they trusted and followed Christ, despite setbacks and circumstances, their lives would be better. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)
People can't live without hope. The human heart longs for something good in the future, or at least, some change for the better. We look at our troubled nation, our doubtful health, our fleeting finances, our broken families, and we hope for something better. It's a wish for, and maybe even a feeling, that the future will be good. But it may only be wishful thinking, like holding out our hands in the dark, or like believing the next lottery ticket holds the winning number.
As believers in Christ, we have a wider frame of reference, and a sure hope of a bright future. This hope is more than a feeling -- it's based upon the promises of God. It encompasses not just today's circumstances, but all of history. We look back in faith upon the works of God, especially his work of redemption through His Son's death and resurrection. By faith we look ahead to the future, that what God has promised is as real and concrete as his past works. "Hope is faith looking forward." (R. C. Sproul)
In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul gives the example of Abraham: "In hope he believed against hope... he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." (Rom 4:18, 20-21) Hope is faith in God's promises, power, and faithfulness, that the future will turn out exactly as he said. It's not wishful thinking. It's not vague. It's based upon the promises of a real God about a real future.
Our Lord Jesus came down as a real baby, lying in a real manger, at a real time and place. The prophet Micah said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2), a small town in Judea. It's a real place. It has a GPS location -- 31.703056, 35.195556; or 31° 42′ 11″ N, 35° 11′ 44″ E. Now, I don't think Mary and Joseph needed GPS, but you get my point. We believe God's plan for the future will be just as real, and just as good.
Hope is reckoning the future to be as God has promised. Christ came down to us in his first advent, and he will return at his second advent. Our Lord came, and he will return. His Kingdom will be established in glory, wickedness will be judged and removed, our bodies will be resurrected, and all creation will be renewed (Rom 8:19-25). We have a home forever in the Father's house in a world where righteousness reigns.
So, at Christmas we sing: "No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found. He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love." (Isaac Watts)
So, our hope is not mere wishful thinking, it's being certain about a real future, as real as the sun coming up tomorrow. We may experience holiday sadness, broken families, and the loss of loved ones, but if we belong to Christ these difficulties are temporary. Nations will pass, health and riches fade, family and friends depart, but God's glorious future will come to pass. If we have trusted Christ, we will be part of that. We rest on his bright promises about the future. That's our light, our sunshine, our lamp in the darkness. That's our candle of hope in this season, and every season.
Without Christ, however, we have no real hope (Eph 2:12). But if we have come to Christ as Savior, then "...we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul..." (Heb 6:18-19a). Our hope is a sure and steadfast anchor for the future. An anchor, not a fantasy.
Finally, Paul's benediction at the end of Romans is, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." (Rom 15:13) God wants us to know and abound in hope.
That's it for week 52! May you abound in hope this Christmas and New Year!
I'll be taking a break from writing this newsletter for a couple of weeks, starting again in January.
Sandy
Photo above by Rebecca Peterson-Hall on Unsplash. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.