Articles
TRUE SPIRITUAL HOPE
One of my fondest memories of my childhood was the time of year where summer was over
and the holiday season was just around the corner. The reason that particular time is so
memorable to me is because it just happened to be the time we would receive the Sears Wish
Book. I can remember pouring over the pages of that marvelous catalog with great anticipation
of what Santa may bring. I remember thinking, “I hope I get…” (fill in the blank).
We often use the word “hope” in a way that indicates a wishful desire. There’s nothing
particularly wrong with that usage. The challenge comes when we see this word being used in
Scripture. The writers of the Holy Book were not simply referencing wishful desires when they
penned the word “hope.” There is a great sense of anticipation or expectation in their use of this
word.
Certainly, our world is filled with challenges, and our spiritual journey is marked by
moments of tremendous pressure as we seek to follow the example of Jesus. We ought always to
be thankful to God for the hope we have in Christ. Because of God’s great mercy and Christ’s
resurrection, we are born again to a living hope (1 Pet. 1:3). The apostle opened his letter to
Titus by saying, “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith
of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal
life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” (Titus 1:1-2). Paul was
meaning the anticipation or expectation of eternal life because of God’s love and mercy shown
through the substitutionary sacrifice of His Only Son. We need to have this kind of hope — true
spiritual hope.
True spiritual hope is expectation and desire fused into an attitude that is unwavering. It
doesn’t matter what happens, our hope, our anticipation, our expectation is eternal life with God.
True spiritual hope puts the world into perspective. Our world is reeling with civil unrest
and a global pandemic. We are facing an ever-increasing hostility toward Christianity. But this
world is not our home, and the hope we have reassures us of that fact.
~Keith Harris
via Wind Song church of Christ
North Little Rock, AR
