Eternal Hope

 

Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

First Timothy 1:1-2 says, “  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Have you ever had plans to do something and then it not take place as you had hoped? I recall some instances in my life where I had been promised something and then it didn't take place and I wasdisappointed for awhile but got over it eventually. Everyone liked to go to the county fair and it ws running for about a week and this one friend said that I could go with them. I was excited about the idea and it was okay with my parents so thought I was going. No one came to pick me up and so after waiting for a period of time, realized that it wasn't going to happen. Sometimes our “hopes” don't materialize.

Adam Clarke says of this verse, “ Without Jesus, the world was hopeless; the expectation of being saved can only come to mankind by his Gospel. He is called our hope, as he is called our life, our peace, our righteousness, etc., because from him hope, life, peace, righteousness, and all other blessings proceed.” Hopes are backed by the person or thing that is necessary to fulfill the requirement. When we place our hope in programs or people other than God, there is the strongest percentage of failure. Again, it depends on the Object of our hope. The Apostle Paul begins with the statement that the Lord Jesus Christ is our hope and therefore we are guaranteed to have whatever He promises. The guarantee for this hope is found in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the grave. If that event did not take place, then we would have virtually no hope at all. The resurrection however, did take place and as a result, our hope is in Christ for our eternal destination as well as how to live out our lives while we are still on this side of glory. As you may know, I have been put on hospice as my blood readings indicated that my kidneys were not functioning as they should and when I refused to go on dialysis, I was urged to be put on hospice by my doctors and nurses. One doctor made the comment, “Well, I like your spirit.” My spirit was completely due to my hope in connection with death. Most unbelievers in the Lord Jesus Christ, assume that death is the end of everything and the extinction of the human being in all areas and that there is no life after death. The Bible however gives us a different definition and even with passages like Ecclesiastes 12:7 which says, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” The Spirit of every human being is what we all know. We might recognize a person by their “looks” but that is not to whom we speak and know, but the spirit is. You can look at a person in a coffin but you cannot have fellowship with them, nor even talk to them. I have people say to me, “Have you thought about what death is like?” I reply, “Yes, I have read the last chapter.” Death for the believer is a guaranteed hope of being with God for all eternity. Now, that's hope! Praise God today for being the guarantee for our eternal hope.