I’m currently in a series on the problem of evil, but in light of our recent circumstances regarding the presidential election in the U.S., I felt compelled to write about something I hear a lot about that’s promised, but see little of—hope.
There are various ideas as to what
might bring ultimate hope in life. For some of us, it’s the practical thing,
like receiving a new job, getting a raise, or finding the perfect person to
marry. In regards to our nation, we often find hope in one candidate, a
political system of thought, or in the nation itself.
As I reflect on hope from a
Christian perspective, I cannot help but think, day to day, that my hope rests
not in a human or politician, a political system, a country, or humanity as a
whole. Nor does my hope rest in the passing or not of some policy or law. As
important as all of those might be, they provide no ultimate hope. They are
temporal.
Hope for the Christian is the same
kind of hope that Abraham had—hope in what seemed to be the impossible. God promised
to make him into a great nation, but his wife, Sarah, was barren. She couldn’t
have children. Yet, as Paul describes Abraham’s hope in Romans, it was
Against all hope, Abraham in hope
believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to
him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the
fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and
that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waiver through unbelief
regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory
to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
(Rom 4:18-21)
Abraham’s hope was not found in his
own abilities, nor in that of his wife’s, but in a God who could do, what
seemed to be, the impossible—make something dead once again alive.
Christians, like Abraham, are to put
their hope in the guarantor of their salvation—a God who has the power to do
what He promises. The same God who did the impossible in the life of Abraham is
the same God who promises the impossible to us—to make the dead alive again.
Humanity’s ultimate hope is in the resurrection of the Son of God, who is the
foreshadowing of our own resurrection and the restoration of all things. “If
Christ has not been raised,” says Paul, “our preaching is useless,” and so is
our faith. Our faith is “futile,” if Christ is not raised, and we are still in
our sins (1 Cor 15:14, 17, NIV). As Paul continues to argue throughout the
passage, our own resurrection rests squarely in Jesus’ resurrection.
Not only will we be raised, but God
has plans of restoring all things, as noted in Romans 8:20-21, “For the
creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will
of the one who subjected it, I hope that the creation itself will be liberated
from its bondage to decay and brought into glorious freedom of the children of
God” (NIV). The liberation of creation is intricately connected to our own
liberation. As Paul writes in Colossians, through the death of Christ’s
physical body, God has brought us from alienation and enemies to being
reconciled to Him. Not only that, God is at work reconciling all things to
Himself, whether things on earth or in heaven (Col 1:19-23, NIV).
In the resurrection of Jesus, God inaugurates
His plan of making the dead alive again. God began to reverse the effects of sin
and corruption. That’s why Paul can proclaim, “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting!” (1 Cor 15:55, NIV) As I’ve heard apologist Gary
Habermas say on numerous occasions, Paul’s not simply reciting poetry, here. He’s
taunting death. He knows that death has no lasting permanence on those who are
in Christ. However, moving from death to life is not merely something that is
future. God has also given us His Spirit who works in us, changing us and
making us alive—the kind of life the Bible describes as eternal life—and the
kind of life that comes from having a relationship with the God of the universe
(Jn 17:3). This is God’s own life at work in us. This power from the Spirit
that is available “for us who believe,” Paul describes as, “like the working of
the mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the
dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms” (Eph 1:19-20,
NIV). God has set us free, not only by forgiving our guilt, but also in giving
us the power to overcome sin in our lives through the Spirit. If we are in Christ,
we are united with Him in His death. We have died to ourselves, so that, we may
live a new life now (Rom 6:4, NIV), which will ultimately result in our being
united in Christ through the resurrection of our bodies. As Paul proclaims, “For
we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might
be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who
has died has been freed from sin” (Rom 6:7, NIV). As believers, we have been
freed from the power of sin in our lives in the present. God has given us His
Spirit, who offers new life to us, and the power to overcome sin. He is continually
at work in us, making us new.
Yet, this new life is not to be used
for our own selfish pleasures. It’s not just about our own personal gain. God
has given us new life, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to make a
difference in the here and now. We have been called to love our neighbors as
ourselves (Mk 12:31). We have been called to give of ourselves to the other—our
friends in pain, those who have felt the effects of evil in this world, the
widow, and the orphan (Js 1:27). We have been called to love our enemies and to
live in peace with others, so far as it is up to us (Matt:5:44; Rom 12:14, 16,
18). We have been called to forgive unconditionally those who have wronged us and
to reconcile with them (Matt 5:44; 18:15, 21-22). We have been called to turn
the other cheek and not seek revenge (Matt 5:39; Rom 12:19). We have been
called to give, not only our tunic, but our robe as well (Matt 5:40). We have
been called to stop the gossip and malign talk (Js 3:2-9). We have been called
to stop living in hatred toward our fellow humans, who are, just as much as we
were, in need of life, and who have been made in the image and likeness of God,
and to love them (Rom 12:14, 17-18, 20; 13:8-10; 1 Jn 3:13-16). We have been
called to help the poor and those in need, including our enemies (Ps 82; Mk
12:31; Lk 10:25-37; Rom 1:13, 20; Js 1:27; 2:14-17; 1 Jn 3:16-18). We have been
called to submit to those who govern us and to pray for them, because God “wants
all men,” including kings and governing authorities, “to be saved and to come
to the knowledge of the truth” (Rom 13:1-5; 1 Tim 2:1-4). The life that we have
been called to know is representative of life that will overcome and permeate
all of creation in the coming of the Son of God, when He sets up His reign and
rule. When we live by this eternal, kingdom life, in the here and now, we love
God with all that we are.
Because of the resurrection of
Jesus, God will bring about His Kingdom—a kingdom which begins now, but will
culminate in the ultimate triumph of God over that all that oppose His rule—sin,
corruption, and death. Because of the
resurrection of the Son of God, we have hope for the resurrection of our flesh
and in the renewal of all things. This is a time when justice rules, a time
when the lion will lie down with the lamb, a time when God will eliminate all
evil, pain, and suffering, a time when we will be God’s people and God will be
our God, a time when the presence of God will be felt through the entirety of creation,
a time when we will feast on the goodness of our God and bask in the goodness
of His universal triumph, and a time when we experience universal peace—as the
ancient Jews understood, God will bring about shalom.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new
earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was
no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I
heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with
men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will
be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will
be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things
has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything
new!” . . . “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the
End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of
the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his
God and he will be my son.” (Rev 21:1-7,
NIV)
The promise that God makes to His
human creatures is that He will make the dead alive again. He will make all things new. As He raised Jesus from the
dead, He promises that He will do the same for us. Yet, He also promises new life for us now. He doesn’t promise an easy road. It doesn’t mean that life now is going
to be easy. There may be disappointments, persecution, and ridicule (1 Tim
3:12-13). After all, as noted earlier, to break the effects of sin in our
lives, it requires death—death of our own way of doing things. It requires
death to finding hope in things that are temporal. But those who are united in Christ
through His death and resurrection will be given life—life that is abundant. It’s
the kind of life that can only be found through a personal relationship with
God. It’s the kind of life that is transformational—a life that will culminate
in our ultimate transformation. It is because of the resurrection that this new
life is possible. That’s why the resurrection of Jesus is the heart and center
of the Gospel, the good news for all who believe.
Jesus calls us. He makes us an
offer. Hear His call: “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who
hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let
him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Rev 22:17, NIV)
Shalom!
