Hope

In the English language, “hope” is a fuzzy word. It describes a wish or desire that something will happen or turn out a certain way. We might hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow, but tomorrow brings a downpour. In our language, hope has no guarantees. In Scripture, “hope” is different.

The message of the gospel is a message of grace, hope, and transformation. The power of the gospel stops a person in their tracks, causes them to realize their sin, and turns them to God. The gospel is not about being born into a Christian home, going through catechism, attending church, or being a good moral person. It is about life transformation.

Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Peter reminds us that our lives are as fleeting as the grass and flowers of the field. Some masters and captains we are…stuck in the process of withering and falling. But there is a place we can go for help, a place that is living and enduring, a place that stands forever in contrast to our temporal existence. 

Today we start a new series of devotionals called Living Hope. Our hope is secured in the living God, who always keeps his promises. While we will use many passages in Scripture, 1 Peter will be our base. So, let’s start with the first two verses of this letter.

In the New Testament, Jesus came to be the Passover lamb. When John the Baptist saw Jesus walking down the road, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

Nate Saint, who gave his life for Christ as a missionary, said it this way: “If we could only grasp the significance of the Incarnation, the word sacrifice would disappear from our vocabulary.” Jesus is our great hope!

The virgin birth certainly defines history. If Jesus was simply the product of a man and a woman, his life and death were no more significant than yours and mine. We could not even call him a good teacher.

Seven hundred years before Jesus came, the prophet Isaiah proclaimed the promise. A virgin would conceive. God’s Son would be born, and his name would be called “Immanuel (which means God with us)” (Matt 1:23). God would come to live among us, and he would never leave us. Immanuel is our great hope. 

The law does not contradict God’s promises but moves us to God’s promises. The law is the road to hope. And our hope is in Jesus alone. Paul explains that “the Law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24 NKJV).