HOPE Alive

HOPE Alive

Have you ever lost hope in a situation or even hope for living? “All hope is lost,” we’ve heard it said. That’s a sad statement—so sad that a person with no hope might even end their own life. That is the ultimate loss of hope.

Did you know that hope can be alive? 

Peter talks about living hope in his first epistle:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-4 NKJV).

Living hope. Think about that. How can hope be alive?

Look first at what comes before living hope in the passage. “... our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again ...” Because of His abundant mercy, Jesus gave us the opportunity to be born-again.

Followers of Jesus Christ have the blessing of living hope. Only God can bring hope to life because only He can breathe life into it. 

Bible scholar and longtime voice of the Back to the Bible radio program, Woodrow Kroll, said, “The Christian’s hope is alive because the One in whom we have hope is alive.”  

Followers of Jesus are born-again into a hope that never dies—a confidence that is without end—a hope that has the breath of God in it—a hope that we can count on endlessly.  

Just as God breathed life into Adam and breathed life into Jesus dead body—quickening it back to life—He breathes life into hope and it becomes living hope. Living hope is under-girded by the power of God.

According to Peter this living hope comes through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Had our Savior not come back to life there would be no living hope.

The grave clothes collapsed as the King of kings stood to His feet. Living hope embodied the risen Messiah and is now available to whoever will believe and receive Christ as Lord and Savior.

So what are we hoping for? Are our hopes consistent with teachings of Jesus? Will the realization of our hopes enrich our spiritual lives or that of another person? Are our hopes of a nature that God would want to breathe life into them? Let us all examine our hopes and ask God to help us keep them in line with His plan and purpose for each of our individual lives. 

  

Peter goes on to say that the living hope leads us to an incorruptible inheritance. My next post will be about that amazing inheritance, so stay tuned.

For now, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

There is a hope found only in Jesus Christ and it is a living hope.

God bless you as you rejoice in living hope—as you rest in living hope.

Your comments are welcome.

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford