Got a bit of a change for you today...This is not Angie writing today, but her husband Caleb. My wife has not been feeling well today so I offered to write a guest post for her blog today so that she could get some rest and, at the same time, continue her 31 Days of Hope project, which I think is a brilliant way to start 2011. Enough introductions...let's talk about hope.
When my wife accepted my offer today to allow me to write on her behalf so that she could get some rest, I must say I was quite excited because I knew that I would be writing on hope.
Our culture uses hope in reference to so many things. We hope for a job change or promotion. We hope to win the lottery. We hope our children will grow up loving Christ. We hope Ohio State beats Arkansas in tonight's bowl game (yes..I am an Ohio State fan).
Time to digress back to grade school language studies for a minute. In our everyday usage of hope, we use it as both a noun and a verb. As a verb (action), HOPE is defined as "to expect with confidence". As a noun (person/place/thing), HOPE simply means "a person or thing in which expectations are centered". Who says grammar studies wouldn't pay off?
Draw the lines of similarity between the two definitions. Hope stems from expectations.
As it relates to this project, hope is a noun, i.e. we have hope, do not lose hope, find hope etc. As Christians, our hope is Christ, plain and simple. He is the source on which our expectations are centered, or built upon.
Now let's make it real. If Christ is our hope, all our expectations are centered on Him, His promises, His character, His truth...how can we lose hope? If our circumstances change, tough times come, storm clouds roll in, difficulty hits with no warning, or life just flips upside down unexpectedly, does Christ change? No. Does the Truth that He brings change? No. Does His Word change? No. Is He any less faithful or true? No.
The simple truth is this: If our hope is truly Christ, then we always have hope. Our faith may get rocked and our hope flickers because of our own lack of faith or trust in Christ. But hope itself never dies. Hope is never extinguished. We just choose to ignore it.
Even in our darkest hour, Christ is true. When life drowns out all voice of rhyme and reason, Christ is true. When we face what seems like insurmountable circumstances, Christ is true.
If Christ is true, if Christ is constant and unchanging, if our hope is set in Christ alone, then our hope is constant.
Today, do not hope in circumstances, people, things, or institutions. Hope in Christ. He is constant. He is faithful. He is true. Let your hope be centered on the immovable and watch how a new realization and manifestation of hope rises in spite of the curveballs life throws your way.
Let your hope be constant because your hope is Christ.
You can follow Caleb's own blog at www.calebmagnino.com or on twitter @cmagnino
