The Certainty of Hope Spans Time; by John

The Certainty of Hope Spans Time

Many words in every language mean a variety of things according to the need they fill. For instance the English word "hope" expresses something good that can, or may, happen in the future. In a sense, it always expresses a desire. "I hope to make a trip to Disney Land before the kids grow up!" is an example. But sometimes as Christians we speak of "the blessed hope." That speaks of something that we believe will certainly happen because God has promised it in the Bible. We may also use it to express a negative idea, "I hope that never happens." Hope can be used to express regret. For instance, a person may say, "I hoped my business would be financially sound by now, but it isn't."

In the Greek New Testament of the Bible "hope" is always quite strong. When it was written, their use of hope expressed an absolute belief of a future event happening. The only unsure thing in their hope was the element of time. They weren't sure about the exact year, day and hour.

Today, we generally express our faith with positive statements such as, "I remember when I put my trust in Jesus, and He saved me. I know my home is in heaven with Him!" The "know" in that sentence expresses our Biblical hope. It hasn't happened yet, but we are certain everything God has promised will occur according to His schedule. And yes, we believe God has a schedule. How absolute, or flexible it is, we certainly do not know.

Some people resent Christians saying such things, but those same people may say, "I'm going to visit Italy this summer, or something like that." They can't be sure they will live through the day, much less until some future date. A good friend and I were talking one day after he visited the dentist. He said matter-of-factly, "The technician told me I brushed my teeth too hard. She said I would lose them before I died if I didn't brush them a little more gently." His eyes were fixed on mine, and I saw the pain there. It was ironic. He had cancer, and he lived only a few more weeks. He was well aware his time was almost gone, but the technician didn't have a clue about his condition. Most of us don't have much more than a clue about what the future holds, that is, unless we have hope in Christ.

A fragment of a song just came to mind. It says something like, "I don't know about the future, but I know Who holds the future in His hands."

I'm the one who knows that he has a limited future now. I have acute myeloid leukemia and I'm 83 years old. It would be extremely painful and probably quite useless to treat the disease at this point. I've chosen palliative treatment. That means the medical community will try to keep me comfortable as long as I live. My friends tell me I can't give up, and I have to tell them that I am not. I am living in hope that the future holds a far more wonderful life than I've already had on this beautiful earth where God placed us. Eternity is my hope with all the wonderful things God has promised. I'm looking forward to meeting two sisters and a brother who left this earth before I was born, and of course, my parents and older brother who was like a father to me a lot of the time.

The Hebrew Bible contains a number of different words we translate to English with our word, "hope." They express a far greater range of meaning, mood and feeling than our one word can carry. Tikvah refers literally to a cord as an attachment, and carries the meaning of an expected happening longed for. Miqveh refers to perhaps an oasis, or a pool of water, but it is used to express confidence that it will be there where they expect it. Yahchal refers basically to waiting, and that's a big part of hope. We must be patient for our Lord works on His Own time table, and it is always correct and filled with His love.

These are just some of the expressions of hope. There are more if you would like to study them. As for me, I am trying to live one day at a time emjoying my family and friends and the time God is allowing me here, but my hope is for a future with far less limitation than I now have. There is no real freedom or safe haven on earth. Both are ours when we turn our lives over to the Lord. That is my hope.


John A. House, July 17, 2011