Look around and identify where you see hope. There just isn’t that much hope in the world today. The world economy isn’t offering a whole lot of promise. The streets are restless with racism and violence. The political scene is filled with empty promises. Sometimes relationships are good and sometimes they are, well, not so good. Even our wardrobe is either outdated or it doesn’t fit! Oh, sure we see and experience pockets of hope from time-to-time; everyday life in this world isn’t always hopeless. But if we lock our hope in what this world has to offer we will live like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh who didn’t find any reason for joy when he looked around. As Christians this shouldn’t surprise us; our ultimate hope is found beyond this world. Paul wrote,

“If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19)

What he is saying is that even if we have Christ and that relationship with Him doesn’t offer us anything outside of what we experience in this life then we are miserable indeed. We have been called to live a life of denying self and suffering (Galatians 2:20) and if there is no resurrection then we are just poor chumps slogging through life. Through Christ God not only offers us forgiveness in the present, He also offers us resurrection hope in the future. Think about it, if Christ is not raise doesn’t that just put us right back on the same slippery slope as everyone else, looking for hope in a hopeless world?

Does this means that Christians are just supposed to exist in this life and hold no value in living in the world today with a “pie-in-the-sky” attitude? Absolutely not! We have enough instruction in God’s Word to teach us that there are wonderful opportunities and there is great value in living today (cf. Romans 5:1-5). Paul even ended his great chapter on the resurrection with these sound words,

“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)

Yes, there is a reason to get up, get dressed and head out the door – God has something for us to do. It may not be fun, it may not feel good, but anything done for the glory of the Lord is worth doing and has eternal value.

The doctrine of the resurrection holds out hope to us. And hope is what we look for every day. When we have hope it energizes us to do the work God has called us to do.

He Is Alive…Hope Is Alive!

Snow, ice and cold go away,

And, please, don’t come back any day!

We’ve slipped, froze, and had our fun,

Now it’s time for spring to come!

Or, try this one…

Roses are red,

My toes are blue,

Why are my toes blue?

My toes should not be this hue?

I think I’ll take it as a clue

To pray for spring to come and warm my toes of blue.

Ok, I realize I’m not very good at this, but I think it gets my point across – spring can come at any time! We’re all ready for a change. The warmer weather will bring out the beautiful colors that remind us of renewal.

“The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come!” (The Song of Solomon 2:12)

Budding trees and blooming flowers are a reminder that a better day is coming. God has promised us a home where sorrow will be wonderfully absent (Revelation 21:4) and the joy of exultation in God will be beautifully uninterrupted (Revelation 4:8). Oh, what a day that will be. And God’s promises always find their fulfillment in Jesus – He is the “AMEN” to what God says will happen. Because Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to the presence of His Father, we who are His children by grace through faith can expect the same.

“For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:14)

So, in a weird sort of way we can and should be thankful for the snow, cold and ice, because it is the precursor to spring that reminds us of God’s future grace. Without the winter we would have no spring.

On a final note, I think we can all agree that we’re thankful we don’t live in Boston.

Grace & Peace,

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!