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A Christian
Thought for the Month - November 2013
Thoughts for believers & seekers
Thought for the Month -
Hope, the Currency of Heaven
Hebrews 12:1,2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who ....because he never lost sight of where he was headed ..... could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever.
The days of autumn have got shorter and darker and we look at the rain with a sense of gloom. What makes it worse is that this month will be followed by December and then January, more months of cold and dark. But then - we know! - February, and a light at the end of the tunnel of darkness and cold, the hope of Spring, new life and then Summer and warmth again.
That ‘hope’ is the same sort of hope that we find in the Bible, a strong belief of the goodness of the future, based upon reliable experience. That is different from the hope that someone has who has bought a lottery ticket who says, “I hope this will be the one that changes my life for ever.” Well the odds are that it won’t, the odds are phenomenal against that happening.
No, hope used in the Christian and Biblical sense is a strong assurance. The writer in the letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament of the Bible, that we have quoted above, cited the example of Jesus. Jesus knew where he had come from (heaven - see John chapter 6) and he knew where he was ending up. That knowledge enabled him to cope with the things he knew he had to do - face opposition, persecution and the Cross. He looked beyond those things to what he knew would follow - his return to heaven with a good job done!
Most of us live with hope in different forms, often not as strong as the hope we have been considering. We hope we’ll get a job next week, we hope we’ll pass the exams in spring, we hope we’ll find a partner and love, we hope they’ll find a cure to my illness, or even, I hope this cold will go quickly! But we live in what theologians call ‘a Fallen World’, a world that isn’t perfect like it was when God first made it, a world that goes wrong. So it is that sometimes our hopes seem more like wishful thinking than an anticipation based on a strong and firm assurance, and we live on with unfulfilled dreams. Tomorrow must be better than today, surely!
Having been both a Christian and an observer of human life for many years, I KNOW two things.
First, you cannot guarantee the future. People train for years for the Olympics and then at the last minute have an accident that puts them out of gymnastics for the rest of their life. People put money into ‘certain’ stocks and shares only to find a while later the market takes a dive as does all their hopes of a quick buck. People enter a relationship with great hopes and dreams but without a strong foundation, within a couple of years those hopes and dreams are dashed. Yes, sometimes these thing do work out, but so often they don’t.
The second thing I know, is that as a Christian I may not be able to guarantee the future but I can guarantee God’s love and that is what brings the assurance and hope that whatever the future holds - and it may not always be good from my present perspective - God will be working to bring good in it for me. How do I know this? a)The Bible teaches it quite specifically, b) I have observed it many times in my life in the many years I have been a Christian, and c) I have similarly watched it working out in the lives of many other Christians I have known in that time. Now you may not have those three assurances and therefore you have to take my word for it.
My Hope? What is this ‘strong assurance’ that I have? Well I’ve said it already but it needs expanding. First, for however many years I have left on this earth, whatever takes place around me and whatever happens to me, God will be working to bring good for me. (Don’t blame Him for the circumstances, we often bring them on ourselves, other people may have brought them, or it’s simply just the world going wrong). The more I read the Bible, the more convinced I am of this. The more I look back on my life, the more convinced I am of this. The more I watch the lives of other Christians, the more convinced I am of this. But that is about the years of life that I have left. What happens at death? I go to heaven, on ongoing existence of absolute goodness with God. Why do I have this hope? Because the Bible clearly declares it and if it is right about the first thing, about God working good into my life this side of death, I have no reason to believe it won’t be true about after death.
Of course there is another factor that ought to be considered and that is my participation in all this. All this is dependent on two things. First, on the fact of me coming to a point, many years ago now, when I surrendered my life to God, asked for His forgiveness and received it on the basis of what Jesus had done on the Cross for me - that was the starting point. And then, second, of course there is my ongoing trusting Him and reliance upon Him and seeking to follow in the way He shows in the New Testament of the Bible, a way of love and goodness.
Yes, there is all that, but here’s something quite incredible. There have been, and no doubt will be, times in my life, since I first came to know Him, when I have been stupid and ignored Him and done my own thing - and things have gone wrong. Here’s the amazing thing: He still loves me and still works for my good! That will always include seeking to bring me back into a closer relationship with Him but until that happens, He is still there working for my good. That’s what real love does. Incredible isn’t it! It is upon that love that flows from heaven that this hope is built. Do you know it? If you are fearful of going to a church to find it, you can always make contact with me via Rochford Life - just use the e-mail or mobile number at the top of the page. I’d love to hear from you.
Hebrews 12:1,2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who ....because he never lost sight of where he was headed ..... could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever.
The days of autumn have got shorter and darker and we look at the rain with a sense of gloom. What makes it worse is that this month will be followed by December and then January, more months of cold and dark. But then -
That ‘hope’ is the same sort of hope that we find in the Bible, a strong belief of the goodness of the future, based upon reliable experience. That is different from the hope that someone has who has bought a lottery ticket who says, “I hope this will be the one that changes my life for ever.” Well the odds are that it won’t, the odds are phenomenal against that happening.
No, hope used in the Christian and Biblical sense is a strong assurance. The writer in the letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament of the Bible, that we have quoted above, cited the example of Jesus. Jesus knew where he had come from (heaven -
Most of us live with hope in different forms, often not as strong as the hope we have been considering. We hope we’ll get a job next week, we hope we’ll pass the exams in spring, we hope we’ll find a partner and love, we hope they’ll find a cure to my illness, or even, I hope this cold will go quickly! But we live in what theologians call ‘a Fallen World’, a world that isn’t perfect like it was when God first made it, a world that goes wrong. So it is that sometimes our hopes seem more like wishful thinking than an anticipation based on a strong and firm assurance, and we live on with unfulfilled dreams. Tomorrow must be better than today, surely!
Having been both a Christian and an observer of human life for many years, I KNOW two things.
First, you cannot guarantee the future. People train for years for the Olympics and then at the last minute have an accident that puts them out of gymnastics for the rest of their life. People put money into ‘certain’ stocks and shares only to find a while later the market takes a dive as does all their hopes of a quick buck. People enter a relationship with great hopes and dreams but without a strong foundation, within a couple of years those hopes and dreams are dashed. Yes, sometimes these thing do work out, but so often they don’t.
The second thing I know, is that as a Christian I may not be able to guarantee the future but I can guarantee God’s love and that is what brings the assurance and hope that whatever the future holds -
My Hope? What is this ‘strong assurance’ that I have? Well I’ve said it already but it needs expanding. First, for however many years I have left on this earth, whatever takes place around me and whatever happens to me, God will be working to bring good for me. (Don’t blame Him for the circumstances, we often bring them on ourselves, other people may have brought them, or it’s simply just the world going wrong). The more I read the Bible, the more convinced I am of this. The more I look back on my life, the more convinced I am of this. The more I watch the lives of other Christians, the more convinced I am of this. But that is about the years of life that I have left. What happens at death? I go to heaven, on ongoing existence of absolute goodness with God. Why do I have this hope? Because the Bible clearly declares it and if it is right about the first thing, about God working good into my life this side of death, I have no reason to believe it won’t be true about after death.
Of course there is another factor that ought to be considered and that is my participation in all this. All this is dependent on two things. First, on the fact of me coming to a point, many years ago now, when I surrendered my life to God, asked for His forgiveness and received it on the basis of what Jesus had done on the Cross for me -
Yes, there is all that, but here’s something quite incredible. There have been, and no doubt will be, times in my life, since I first came to know Him, when I have been stupid and ignored Him and done my own thing -