All of life hinges on hope, but hopelessness is everywhere in our world, and no wonder. People who don’t know God through His Son Jesus have no reason to hope. All they have is despair and depression. That is normal and that is expected. Sure, they have seasons of alleviated despair but it doesn’t last for very long. This lifting of despair comes with a new toy or outfit or relationship or raise, but once the luster has worn off it’s back to despair. The reason for this is that none of those things can conquer death.

For believers hope is always there because of the resurrection. “…The authentic story of hope hinges on the resurrection of Jesus. It is God’s answer to a hopeless world” (Ed Welch). Something shiny comes along and it may capture our attention, but it doesn’t hold it because we hope in something everlasting that never tarnishes. We are caught up in the story line of the Bible. His story has become our story; His life has become our life; His end is our end; and His future is ours as well.

Think about it this way. I just sold our 1998 Expedition. We’ve had it for 11 years and ran it up to 236,000 miles. When we finally made the decision to sell it I spent a Friday morning washing the outside and detailing the inside. I made sure it looked and smelled wonderful. And then I parked it in the garage and chased the cat off of it. I did all of this in the hope that I would get the most money out of it. We ended up trading it in and all the dealer wanted to do was take the tires off and give it to charity! I didn’t get a dime more for all the time I put in, it was sort of depressing. My hope was misplaced.

That is how someone feels who’s not part of God’s story, why bother, I’m just going to end up in the ground anyway and then nothing. They have no hope to cling to, they have no future that they know of. They have ignored God’s story of redemption and resurrection. They are simply looking for the next shining thing that will come along and distract them from the depressing state of affairs.

In Paul’s beautifully written chapter where he unpacks the meaning of the resurrection he stated that our victory comes from God through the resurrection of Jesus (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:57). We don’t need to get muddled down in the world because God has a brighter future for us. However, we do have purpose in the world today; God has given us a reason through the resurrection to get up and do good:

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 15:58)

Jesus Is Alive!