Hope in Christ

That ye may know what is the hope of his calling. Eph. 1:18

Paul reminds us that in Christ we have been given hope (see Eph. 1:8-14, 18). A lot of people have no idea what their place is in this world. Or they just have no hope at all. They believe that when they die, that is that. And so there is no future for them beyond the grave. In fact, it is much worse: the apostle’s description of those who are outside of Christ is that they have “no hope, and [are] without God in the world” (2:11). But in Christ we have been enlightened as to our future with him. We are told that in the fulness of times God will unite all things in Christ (1:10). He will take the discordant elements of the universe and finally bring harmony to our broken world. And we will have a part in this, because he has given us an inheritance in the age to come. We know that our hope is sure because the one in whom we hope is the one “who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (1:11, ESV). Thus, we who “hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory” (1:12, ESV).

I cannot imagine what it would be like to live without hope. I don’t think you can live without hope. So it’s not like only Christians have hope. The difference is that the hope of the Christian is rock-solid and eternally meaningful. We have a hope that is like “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil” (Heb. 6:19). Thank God for this hope. It is the light that shines upon our path, the lightness in our steps, the kindling for joy in the heart.

God your Father desires that you have this hope. It is for this reason that he has sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts as “the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (1:14). The word from without and the Spirit from within testify to us of the hope that we have in Christ.