How are you doing today? How is your spirit? What is your level of morale? How’s your attitude? Hope is a powerful thing. Are you letting it influence you?
It was hope that had the little orphan Annie singing “The Sun’ll Come Out Tomorrow.”
It was hope of being together that united Woody the Cowboy and all of Andy’s toys to save Buzz Lightyear from a certain end in the hands of Sid, the kid next door.
It was hope in the promise of God that kept the children of God marching around the city of Jericho for 7 days to see God bring down the city walls.
It was hope in the direction of God that made Moses walk into the courts of Pharaoh and demand that he “let my people go.” And it was hope of the Promised Land that Moses continued to lead the children of Israel through the desert.
Nobel Peace Prize recipient, African Anglican Bishop, Desmond Tutu says, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”
As you walk through your current season of life and the season of life you will find yourself in the future, may you always be influenced by the hope that you have in Christ. Even in the busyness of this holiday season–the parties, the shopping, the gifts, the decorations, and not to mention the normal responsibilities like work and school–the desire we have for you is this: May that hope influence you greater than your circumstances.
Peter writes to the church at large in 1 Peter 1:3-5 about the living hope we have. As followers of Christ when you were reborn, the first thing you received was a living hope. Death will still come but it will not be the end, this is the living hope provided by Christ. Specifically in this Scripture, our hope is that one day when Christ comes again, we will experience the full fruit of salvation. An imperishable, undefiled, and unfading hope. “Imperishable” means never to be overcome by an enemy. “Undefiled” refers to a land that has not been polluted or spoiled, but is pure. And the word “unfading” paints a picture of land without change or decay. This inheritance, this hope, is immune to disaster. The presence of this hope is not to say there won’t be darkness, difficulties, or disappointment, but the presence of this hope means that there will always be light, love, and life.
“We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Therefore, brother and sister, run the race, fight the fight, defy the darkness, and always, always have hope.
Chad Strausbaugh
1 Peter 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.