May 27, 2010

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5: 1,2 & 5)

What do you hope for? Do you hope for a relaxing summer? Do you hope that it doesn't rain this upcoming Memorial Day weekend? Do you hope that this devotion doesn't drone on and on? In general when we hope for something, we want it to happen and think it might happen, but there is still a chance that we will be disappointed, as there is still a chance that it actually won't happen (especially in the case of hoping that this devotion won't drone on and on)!

In Colossians we are promised, "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:4) On the world's last day, our bodies and souls together will be taken to paradise to experience and share in the glory of the one and only Triune God. Those who "hope in the glory of God" (verse 2)- those who hope for sharing God's glory in heaven, will never be disappointed. God has, and continues to "[pour] our his love into our hearts," and mixed in with this love are all of his promises. When we hope to have a relaxing summer, there's no one promising or guaranteeing that we will have one. When we hope it doesn't rain this weekend, there's no one promising that it won't (even if the weatherman has no chance of rain in the forecast it's not a guarantee- especially in Wisconsin - hey, we could even get snow)! But when we hope in the Lord, when we rejoice and hope in the glory of God, it's a different kind of hope. We have a new definition of hope when we hope in the Lord, because our one and only hope - our Triune God ALWAYS keeps his "very great and precious promises." (2 Peter 1:4) Joshua in his farewell speech had it nailed, "You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed." (Joshua 23:14) Joshua doesn't stutter one bit - there's not even a sliver of doubt in his proclamation. And unlike us who live in the A.D., Joshua lived and died and hoped well before the greatest promise God ever made was fulfilled.

The only reason Joshua had this hope and the only reason we have this hope - this hope that is like no other, is because of the work of our Triune God. Because God the Father loved us enough to design a plan to justify us through faith - because he gave his one and only son, we now have been given peace with him and we can hope and be sure that one day we will have eternal life where we will share in his glory. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Because God the Son followed his father's plan and paid the price for our justification, we can hope and be sure we will one day share in his glory. "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." (CW#382). Because God the Holy Spirit has poured out his love and worked faith in our hearts, we can hope and be absolutely sure and certain that we will one day share in his glory. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)

Proverbs tells us, "the evil man has no future hope," (Proverbs 24:20a) The future for those who are without God is hopeless. Because of the work that our Triune God has done to justify us and because of the love that our Triune God has poured into our hearts, we are not only not hopeless, but we are also more than simply hopeful. We are full of hope, and this is a different kind of hope than the kind of hope that we normally deal with. This kind of hope that we are filled with, doesn't leave us questioning what the outcome will be. Rather, this kind of hope allows us to positively look forward to the certain realization that we will one day be spending our days in heaven, sharing in the glory of our Triune God. Unlike so many of the things we hope for in this world, this kind of hope will never disappoint. Blessed are they who hope, who hope in the LORD!

Dear Triune God, our one and only hope who has given us a different kind of hope that does not disappoint,

You tell us, "...[Your] eyes are on those who fear [you], on those whose hope is in [your] unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for [you]; [You are] our help and our shield. In [you] our hearts rejoice, for we trust in [your] holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you." (Psalm 33:18-22)

Amen!