Hope

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” 1 Corinthians 13:13

“Some consider hopefulness an emotional product of doubtless value, merely a feature of a man’s disposition.  However, the apostle Paul, who knew well the sources of spiritual power, in enumerating the graces of the Christian life, put ‘hope’ between ‘faith’ and ‘love’.  It is the creative consequence of faith and a key to love.  It is an essential feature in a man’s make-up as he faces the problems and complexities of his day” (William Chalmers Covert, Facing Our Day).

It’s interesting to consider the importance of ‘hope’ as it relates to Matthew 5:44, which says, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven”.  We don’t ‘love’ our enemies in a sense of taking the moral ‘high ground’, and we don’t pray for those who persecute us simply in an act of obedience, or worse, lording it over them as a Pharisee in an act of self-righteousness and trying to demonstrate to God how ‘humble’ we are.  Rather, we pray for those who persecute us and we love our enemies because we hope. If our theology is truly rooted in the Cross, then the Cross should be the lens through which we view life, and the source and means of power that compels us in our interactions with others.

Consider Romans 5:8 which says, ‘while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’. Because the path was laid, even when we were undeserving and unlovable, then hope for restoration and regeneration is always available.  In Luke 22:34, Jesus speaks from the Cross and says, ‘Father forgive them; for they know not what they do’.  At the pinnacle of His torture on the Cross, Jesus loved and prayed for forgiveness.  He knew that no matter the atrocity committed or spiritual distance, hope of restoration and regeneration always looms because of His incalculable demonstration of love and work of atonement on the Cross.  This love should be the reality of our love for others as well. 2 Corinthians 5:14 says, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all…”

We can’t truly love without hope.  It’s the creative consequence of faith and the key to love, as quoted above.  Our love of others, especially towards those who persecute us, must be rooted in the hope of restoration and regeneration.  We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and we love with hope, knowing all things are possible, and longing to see the day where all things are made new in Him.  Oh, what a day that will be. “In that same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…” Luke 15:7.  Let us love in the limitless hope rooted in the Cross.