We are about to reset our clocks for the end of Daylight Savings Time. I hate the change in the spring when I lose an hour of sleep, but love it in the fall when I get to sleep an extra hour. If your clock is set wrong, your whole life will be messed up—late to work, too early for the appointment, or missing an important meeting. The consequences of not having one’s hope set are more severe.
We often wonder how the early Christians endured their persecutions—being fed to the lions was not a cartoon. Meetinghouses were burned with the worshippers inside; property was seized, families torn apart. As “accountants” who factored in hope, they saw this as “light afflictions” for they knew they had a better possession (2 Cor 4:17; Heb 10:34).
Somehow, hope has all but disappeared from religious thinking. It has come to mean a wish, a fantasy as in, “I hope I win the sweepstakes,” or triviality like “I hope my team wins.” Modern religion has become so focused on solving the inequities and hurts of daily living that hope for eternal living is seldom preached. There are ministries to the married, to the divorced, to the singles, to the homeless, to the sick….But, who talks about heaven as though it is a real place of joy inexpressible?
Paul urged, “Set your mind on the things that are above;” he reminded, “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Col 3:2, Phil 3:20). Life happens and, often, it is not pretty—bad health, heartache, loss. With no hope, life soon becomes dreary and full of despair. For Christians, though, the joy one can find in this life is directly proportional to his level of hope in a life to come.
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be” and advised, “Lay up treasure in heaven” (Mt 6:20-21). Today, most are so focused on laying up treasure for retirement that they do not think beyond the golden years to prepare for the golden streets. What have I done this week that God will treasure and will store up for me until judgment?
In the Roman Empire, pagan religions were bankrupt, offering only variations of Epicureanism, “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you die,” or Stoicism, “Endure for the hope of being absorbed into the cosmic nothingness.” Christianity burst onto the scene with the personal hope of eternal life with THE God who loves you. That hope still awaits the people of God. Security, Life to the ultimate joy of life, never-ending Love to a degree expressed by the cross.
Don’t forget to set your hope forward.
…having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, Eph 1:18-20.
Keith Ward
We often wonder how the early Christians endured their persecutions—being fed to the lions was not a cartoon. Meetinghouses were burned with the worshippers inside; property was seized, families torn apart. As “accountants” who factored in hope, they saw this as “light afflictions” for they knew they had a better possession (2 Cor 4:17; Heb 10:34).
Somehow, hope has all but disappeared from religious thinking. It has come to mean a wish, a fantasy as in, “I hope I win the sweepstakes,” or triviality like “I hope my team wins.” Modern religion has become so focused on solving the inequities and hurts of daily living that hope for eternal living is seldom preached. There are ministries to the married, to the divorced, to the singles, to the homeless, to the sick….But, who talks about heaven as though it is a real place of joy inexpressible?
Paul urged, “Set your mind on the things that are above;” he reminded, “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Col 3:2, Phil 3:20). Life happens and, often, it is not pretty—bad health, heartache, loss. With no hope, life soon becomes dreary and full of despair. For Christians, though, the joy one can find in this life is directly proportional to his level of hope in a life to come.
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be” and advised, “Lay up treasure in heaven” (Mt 6:20-21). Today, most are so focused on laying up treasure for retirement that they do not think beyond the golden years to prepare for the golden streets. What have I done this week that God will treasure and will store up for me until judgment?
In the Roman Empire, pagan religions were bankrupt, offering only variations of Epicureanism, “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you die,” or Stoicism, “Endure for the hope of being absorbed into the cosmic nothingness.” Christianity burst onto the scene with the personal hope of eternal life with THE God who loves you. That hope still awaits the people of God. Security, Life to the ultimate joy of life, never-ending Love to a degree expressed by the cross.
Don’t forget to set your hope forward.
…having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, Eph 1:18-20.
Keith Ward
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