Hoping for Hope
Good ol’ English language! Chock full of words that look the same, sound the same, but have different meanings. Take the word(s) “hope,” for instance. Nothing to differentiate in sight or sound, but one “hope” is a verb, one is a noun.
Definition of HOPE (Merriam-Webster)
intransitive verb: to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true
noun: 1. desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment. 2. someone or something on which hopes are centered
Hoping and Having Hope
There is a vast difference in hoping and having hope. It would seem odd for a Christian to say, “I hope Jesus is coming again.” Because as Christians we have been told in Scripture that Jesus IS coming again. We don’t have to base that on our desires because it has been promised by an infallible God. We don’t have to hope because we have hope. We know. We have Someone on which our hopes are centered.
My friend has a very cute little maltipoo named Max. Smart little dog with expressive eyes that will steal your heart in a second. But Max is the most food-driven animal I have ever seen. Hardly anything, including self-preservation, will cause his eyes to dart away from a potential treat. Not even my cat, who is bigger than Max, hissing and swatting if he comes too close.
But if you could see the confidence in his eyes, the sheer joy of anticipation, you’d know exactly what I mean. Not hoping….waiting.
If you sit down for a meal, Max will watch in anticipation from your first bite until the last. But Max isn’t hoping…Max has hope. You see, my friend has always saved a tiny morsel of food for Max that he gets when she finishes her meal. So Max has absolutely no doubt that a special nibble is on the way. And he waits, licking his lips with great anticipation. Because his master loves him and cares for him and follows through on “promises” made.
Hoping, Waiting
We should all be like Max. And, yes, I am comparing Christians to a dog. But if you could see the confidence in his eyes, the sheer joy of anticipation, you’d know exactly what I mean. Not hoping….waiting.
John 14:1-3 (NIV) says:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Jesus, the Master who loves and care for us, the One who has never failed on a single promise made to us, has said that He is coming back to take us to live with Him forever. Forever in the splendors of heaven, forever in complete wellness, peace and happiness. Death, violence, sickness, sin will no longer need a place in our vocabulary. We will be forever perfected with the One who perfected us. This, THIS is our hope. Not hoping, just waiting with confidence and the sheer joy of anticipation.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NIV)
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.
I absolutely loved the C. S. Lewis quote Pastor Alan used at the end of the sermon last Sunday, so I, too, want to close with it:
“The coming of Christ for Christians is like getting to the end of the story and realizing that it was only the beginning of the real story, that all of our life in this world, and all of our adventures has only been the cover and the title page. And now at last, we are beginning chapter one of the great story which no one earth has ever read, which goes on forever in which every chapter is better than the one before.”
THIS is our hope! (noun.)