By JC Marais, CCCNZ Operations Manager
Heoi whitikiria nga hope o o koutou hinengaro, kia mataara, tumanako atu, a taea noatia te mutunga, ki te aroha noa e kawea mai ki a koutou a te whakakitenga mai o Ihu Karaiti.
O le mea lea, ia mataala ma fa‘autauta. ‘Ia tu‘uina atu ‘ato‘atoa lo ‘outou fa‘amoemoe i le alofa tunoa e ‘aumaia e Iesu Keriso ‘iā te ‘outou pe a fa‘aalia mai o ia.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
1 Peter 1:13
Our Father’s commands provide instruction to ensure we flourish in the new life. As we set out on the pathway of obedience, we quickly build up a quiver of verses to bed down the important “how-to” of the walk of faith. The command to love each other is usually well-communicated and familiar to every regular churchgoer.
But hope? In my experience, this exacting command to set our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ is well received but quickly allocated to the category “for more mature Christians” or to the “I will get to this soon” category.
Lately, I’ve been wondering about this haziness around the importance of hope and remembered what is said of Abraham in Romans 4:18: “In hope he believed against hope...”
The promise made by the God in whom he’d come to believe—and being shown the stars as an illustration—resulted in a clear, well-defined hope. This vivid hope served as an anchor to keep him immovable in his faith while faced with the reality that both his and Sarah’s bodies were as good as dead, unable to produce anything.
Abraham soon received his son, while God continued unfolding his plan to reveal the Offspring.
The Saviour has now been revealed, and as believers on this side of the cross and the ascension we’ve received the indwelling Holy Spirit, who makes the Scriptures come alive for us.
Our hearts need hope, and they will find it in the Saviour revealed in the Scriptures.
In God’s goodness, he has given us everything we need for obedience to this command. Like Abraham, let us apply our minds to formulate a vibrant hope of the future grace that will sustain us today, despite its challenges.
My prayer is that yours is a hope that is worthy of Him.
