Thursday, September 8, 2011
1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope ...
OUR HOPE
Are you ready for some football?!? I live in Michigan, where Detroit Lions' fans are hoping this might be the year their team makes it to the playoffs. After going undefeated in its pre-season games, the Lions are showing definite signs of becoming a contender. Of course, the last time the Lions won all of their pre-season games they also lost every one of the games that actually counted.
Hopes run high for the sports fan as he looks ahead to the start of a new season. So often, however, those hopes are quickly dashed as his favorite team lets him down once again. So many things in life prove to be a big let down. The new job we were so excited about doesn't measure up to expectations. Friends prove unfaithful. The surgery we thought sure would fix our health problems leaves us worse off than we were before.
Yet there is one hope that will never fail to meet expectations. Jesus Christ is the one great hope for this world. All other hopes will die with the passing of time, or will all be dissolved in the judgment fire of the Last Day. All other hopes, even if realized, will leave us inwardly unfilled. Only Jesus can satisfy the empty soul and give life true and lasting meaning. He ransomed us with His holy life and shed blood so that we could be His very own. He sent His Spirit and gave us His Word so that our hearts could be filled with living hope. His is a hope that gives us a perfect peace now through the forgiveness of sins. His is a hope that never dies, but lives on beyond the grave. Built on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, it will satisfy us completely through endless ages!
May we learn to hold loosely to all our earthly hopes!
May God give us grace to hold tightly to JESUS, our certain, all-satisfying, and endless hope!!
