Our Hope in Christ – by Ed Dunn

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ(1 Peter 1:3).

Hope is an orientation of the soul towards a transformation, after which it will be wholly and exclusively love—Simone Weil

Through him we have obtained access through faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God(Romans 5:2).

Hope means expectancy when things are otherwise hopeless.—G. K. Chesterton

     Hope is commonly defined as a feeling of expectancy; a desire for a certain outcome to occur. Often, however, hope is further defined as more than just a feeling or a desire. There is a real element of trust and certainty to hope. A belief, a trust, and a feeling or desire that something will happen. A certainty that the outcome we are looking for will indeed take place.

     In my former work life as an investment professional, I had the opportunity to listen to experts in the field of wealth management who were brought into conferences to address the topic of retirement planning. How those experts loved to pitch complex investment strategies, as well as creative and convenient ways to get those listeners sitting in the audience to put their retirement monies to work with them.

     I remember a favorite catch-phrase, used over-and-over again: Hope is not a strategy. Each time an investment professional would use the phrase, it was always sure to get a good laugh. What they meant by repeating that catch-phrase was, hope is not a strategy—you must plan—and since you must plan, you might as well do that planning with us!

     More often than not, those listening would end up doing just that. They would do their retirement planning with them. The strategy they used was sound and led to great physical, material success.

     It is true that in our physical, material world, in the times and the economies in which we live, planning is the right tool to employ to be ready for the events, circumstances and stages we face in life. Planning, to the best of our human abilities, is a good thing to do.

     But, in God’s economy, in our spiritual lives in Christ, the catch-phrase that the investment experts loved to use, with some overt sarcasm I might add, is not true. In our spiritual lives, our hope in Christ is the only strategy. This strategy, his strategy, is the only strategy that is sound and ultimately leads to our spiritual success. His strategy is the only one we can trust.

     Our hope in Christ is the feeling, the desire, the trust, and sure belief that he is our Lord and Savior. Christ Jesus alone is our hope. Christ Jesus has taken care of any-and-all spiritual planning we might ever need to do. It is finished, and he has finished it for us. Of this we can be certain!

     …while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ… (Titus 2:13).

     Why is it so important to keep our eyes on Christ as our blessed hope?

     Our hope in Christ comes from Christ, and helps us while we wait for his appearing. His hope within us gives us vision, comfort, encouragement and patience in our walk with him. Our physical lives are often full of challenges, disappointments and difficulties. We can live many days of our lives feeling as if little has changed for the better. Yet, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, our Source of hope, and our spiritual lives are renewed day by day.

     Our hope in Christ helps us to stand firm in his grace. We believe and trust in him, and in his indwelling work within us. Christ Jesus is transforming us. We do not believe in the strategies of this world. Nor do we fall prey to legalism, moralism, or a belief that our good works can earn us anything. His grace is a gift. His grace is sufficient for us. We receive that gift freely, gratefully, each day of our lives.

     Our hope in Christ helps us to feel and express joy. His hope in us helps us to rejoice. We rejoice in his living, transforming life within us. We rejoice in the belief and trust that we have been raised and resurrected with him. We rejoice that we are seated with him. This hope is not deferred, and as such, our hearts are healthy and whole. We live by this free gift, this hope, in joy, and share that joy with the world. As we feel it, we have trouble containing it.

     Our hope in Christ gives us certain access through faith to the Father, with the Son, by and through the Holy Spirit. We share a rich spiritual life together in communication, communion, and community with God. We experience God. We share this life together, this new birth into a living hope, with one another. We share this life, and the good news of it, with the world. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We are filled with hope!

     Our hope in Christ gives us peace. We rest in him. We trust in him. This rest and trust we enjoy leads us to feeling and being at peace. In the face of life’s many challenges, disappointments and difficulties, this divine peace does surpass our human understanding. We, in Christ Jesus, can face whatever life throws at us. As we do, our hope in Christ sustains us.  

     Our hope in Christ gives us an identity. As Christ Jesus lives his risen life in us, we are transformed. According to his good purpose, we become his followers; we become more like him. As we yield our lives to him, we invite him to take the lead. We invite him to do all of our spiritual planning. Our hope in him helps us to see his working in our lives more clearly. In seeing, our hope is renewed.    

     Our hope in Christ is the feeling, the desire, the trust and sure belief that he is our Lord and Savior. He is at work in us. Christ Jesus alone is our hope. We cannot do it by ourselves.

     Our hope in Christ is the only strategy that works. His strategy is the only strategy that is sound, sure and ultimately leads to our spiritual success. We rest in him. We hope in him. There can be no greater peace.

     Thank you, our dear friends and partners, for helping us share this blessed hope with the world. We share his certain hope with a world in desperate need. To paraphrase an old Irish proverb, hope is the only cure for every human misery. We share the good news of his hope together. As a team with you, we are so grateful to be able to do so.

In our shared and blessed hope in Christ Jesus,

Edward L. Dunn

Vice President & Chief Executive Officer, Plain Truth Ministries

We hope that our articles and resources bring comfort, hope, encouragement, and healing to our readers. If you’re experiencing that, please subscribe freely, share freely, and, if you’re able, please consider donating freely toward paying it forward by clicking the blue giving at the top of your screen.