Hope That Never Fails

“He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.” (2 Cor 4:14)

In our daily life we use the word, “hope” normally for our dreams and desires that we expect to become a reality. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines hope as, “a desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment.” All of us have big hopes about many things in our life. It can be our education, job, family or something else for the future. But there is no guarantee for an optimistic result for what we hope in this world. It may or may not happen.

That is where Biblical hope makes a big difference. The word hope in the New Testament Scriptures is taken from the Greek word, “elpis”. According to Strong’s Concordance, elpis means expectation, trust, and confidence. It comes from the root word elpo, which means to anticipate (with pleasure) and to welcome. Elpis is an expectation of what is guaranteed to us. It is a promise that will always be fulfilled no matter whatever happens. The reason is simply because the promise-giver and promise keeper is the God of this universe. Humans may change their word and promises according to situations and circumstances but the God we serve is an immutable God. He never changes and neither does his word. Joshua 21:45 says – “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; everyone was fulfilled.” The verse firmly establishes the truth that the promises of the Lord never failed in the past, neither in the present and nor in the future.

The word “death” brings unpleasant emotions to human beings. The fear of our life being taken away from our mortal bodies is not a good news to us. But unfortunately it is inevitable. One day, we all will die. But remember things don't end there for those who die in Christ. Romans 8:11 says – “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” Death could not hold him and the grave could not keep him from rising again. He rose up from the dead according to the scriptures to complete the work of eternal salvation. Romans 4:25 says – “He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Since that is true, the same God will raise us up as his Holy Spirit resides in us. So we do not need to worry about what happens after death.

Christ's resurrection is the core of the biblical gospel and it defines the doctrine of Christianity. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, if Christ had not been raised, then Christian preaching is useless and so is our faith. Along with the death of Christ, so does the resurrection play an important role in intent of the gospel proclamation. Christ rose from the dead to give us hope. And it is not a hope that perishes but the hope of eternal salvation that is assured to us. Resurrection not only brings hope to us but it also prepares our mind for a life beyond death. And what makes it sweeter is the fact we will be with our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Right now we trust in God without seeing him literally. But think about the moment when we see him face to face at our glorification. I could not explain the joy in words on how magnificent would that moment be when we meet Jesus. Revelation 1:7 says – “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” Yes he is coming back soon so let us prepare ourselves to receive him as he returns to earth.

The past one year has been filled with fears, sorrows, pain and depression. Many of us have lost our dear and near loved ones. It is very hard to cope up with loss of someone especially if they are very close to us. The impression that the concerned person won’t be present in this world anymore will make us disappointed and heartbroken. But God Almighty says - "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10). It may not just be death but can be any form of trials or sufferings that we have gone through or still passing through. No matter whether the situation is good or bad, our God is still on the throne. He is working actively behind the scenes to accomplish his purposes. He is there with us in every season of our life. Romans 5:3-4 says, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.” The steadfastness we exhibit during our suffering period indeed produces hope. The trials instruct us to completely depend on God and it develops our steadfastness so that we will be able to see beyond our current circumstances and look unto God who promised us future hope in him alone.

The ultimate hope of a Christian points to the climax of our salvation. Philippians 1:6 says – “He who began the good work of salvation will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” While we live as sojourners in this world, the Holy Spirit energizes us and works in us effectively to fulfill his good purpose. Therefore, our responsibility is to fix our hope completely in the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:13 says – “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Setting big hopes on our own efforts will fail us but if we set our hope in Christ Jesus, I can assure you that there will be nothing less than joy. In his book “Surprise by Hope”, NT Wright mentions - “The point of the resurrection…is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die…What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it.” Finally I would like to conclude with a Scripture portion that always gives me goosebumps whenever I read it. May God bless us with these words and let our hope be built on Christ alone.

51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

(1 Corinthians 15:51-58)