Hope
is not wishful
thinking or
passive
waiting for
something to
happen. We are
called to
"seize the
hope set
before us...
as a sure and
steadfast
anchor of the
soul, a hope
that enters
into the inner
shrine behind
the curtain,
where
Jesus has gone
as a
forerunner on
our behalf,
having become
a high priest
for ever after
the order of
Melchizedek"
(Hebrews
6:18-20). Hope
calls us to
live
differently,
invest wisely,
and stand
firmly as "a
royal
priesthood, a
holy nation,
and a people
set apart for
God"(1 Peter
2:9) and "the
coming of his
kingdom which
lasts
forever".
Christian
hope
springs from
faith and
confidence.
"Now faith is
the assurance
of things
hoped for, the
conviction of
things not
seen. For by
it the people
of old
received their
commendation"
(Hebrews
11:1-2 ESV).
Hope enables
people of
faith to see
beyond the
present fading
pleasures and
rewards and
the momentary
struggles and
afflictions to
a better
future and a
more secure
and lasting
homeland that
awaits those
who are ready
to meet the
Lord when he
returns to
raise our
mortal bodies
to immortality
(1 Corinthians
15:51-53) and
bring us into
his
everlasting
kingdom.
And
Christian
hope
doesn't quit
or look back.
It dares and
emboldens us
to "run
with
perseverance
the race that
is set before
us, looking to
Jesus the
pioneer and
perfecter of
our faith"
(Hebrews
12:1,2). While
we live as
sojourners and
exiles in this
present world,
we strive to
advance the
kingdom of God
as his
ambassadors
and disciples
on mission.
The Lord Jesus
is the supreme
model and
source of our
hope and
confidence
because he has
gone before us
to prepare a
better
homeland for
us. And
through the
work and power
of the Holy
Spirit he
continues to
guide, direct,
and strengthen
us to stay the
course he has
set so we can
finish well
and receive
our reward. .
Paul
the Apostle
tells us to
"rejoice
in our hope of
sharing the
glory of God"
and to
"rejoice in
our
sufferings,
knowing that
suffering
produces
endurance, and
endurance
produces
character, and
character
produces hope,
and hope does
not disappoint
us, because
God's love has
been poured
into our
hearts through
the Holy
Spirit who has
been given to
us" (Romans
2,3-5).
May
this issue
inspire and
call each of
us to be
renewed in
hope,
especially as
we face the
turbulent
times we live
in - times
of testing and
purification,
and times of
suffering and
persecution for
many
Christians around
the world.
Sincerely
in Christ,
Don
Schwager
editor
