Living Ready: Hope

A life that perseveres, is ready, and remains watchful is not driven by fear of a certain end alone - it is driven also by the certainty which comes at the end.

Peter began his initial address to the church by reminding them of their hope (1 Pet 1:3-5). Herein, Peter reminds us of the glorious hope we have. It is not, like many things in this world, fading. It is not, as so many of our wishes, fragile. It does not lose glory. It does not come up empty. It is a living hope.

Our hope is untouched by time. While everything we have experienced on earth wears down with time, everything there endures - it remains. Our hope, then, changes the way we live. It steadies our balance during turbulent sufferings. It purifies our conduct - achieving Christlikeness more and more regularly until perfection. It gives us an anchor in a safe harbor as life's uncertainties crash against us.

Hope is directly connected to holiness (1 Pet 1:13-16). When the future is clearly seen, the present becomes more focused. Hope is not a form of escape - it is alignment. Even when trials come, hope is pointing us towards glory: “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” (1 Pet 4:16) Peter again directs our attention: “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Pet 4:13)

The Christian’s hope brings everything that Satan would use to distract us under control and puts it in its proper place. Satan would seek to destroy us by fiery trials - God refines us (1 Pet 1:7). Satan would have us succumb to pressure, but God gives us the hope necessary to endure it all.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Pet 5:10). Hope steadies when hope is in Christ. Is my hope rooted in Him or tied to the things which are fading, fragile, and futile?