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In the book ‘Some Windsor Sermons’ the Rev, Michael Mann, former Chaplain to the Queen, wrote these words: ‘Without faith there can be no start to understanding and no meaning to life, and so no hope.’ Faith and hope are linked together and are vital ingredients of a fulfilled Christian life.
Hope is not just about a promise for tomorrow; nor is it merely an expectation or a desire about something in the future. For the Christian, hope is a promise, an expectation and a desire for the future which gives us power in the present.
Hope is about today; hope is vitally important for us now. Hope in the future gives us power, through Christ, in the present. Without hope, we all remain powerless.
Think about a situation, any situation, in which you felt hopeless about something in the future – no hope of passing that exam; no hope of getting that job; no hope of avoiding redundancy; no hope of a date with that boy/girl/woman/man; no hope of so-and-so ever speaking to you again. No hope.
In every situation we can think of, we will be paralysed and unable to act positively, if we have no hope in the present. If we lack faith, there can be no hope. Faith and hope in the future that God has planned for us gives us the power of His love in the present.
But faith is not the whole story. Listen to an extract from Peter’s letter to the early Christians.
Hope is not just about a promise for tomorrow; nor is it merely an expectation or a desire about something in the future. For the Christian, hope is a promise, an expectation and a desire for the future which gives us power in the present.
Hope is about today; hope is vitally important for us now. Hope in the future gives us power, through Christ, in the present. Without hope, we all remain powerless.
Think about a situation, any situation, in which you felt hopeless about something in the future – no hope of passing that exam; no hope of getting that job; no hope of avoiding redundancy; no hope of a date with that boy/girl/woman/man; no hope of so-and-so ever speaking to you again. No hope.
In every situation we can think of, we will be paralysed and unable to act positively, if we have no hope in the present. If we lack faith, there can be no hope. Faith and hope in the future that God has planned for us gives us the power of His love in the present.
But faith is not the whole story. Listen to an extract from Peter’s letter to the early Christians.
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Having power in the present enables us to play our part in continuing to build His Kingdom here on earth. But Peter’s letter makes it clear that we need to consistently add to our faith if we are to be useful and productive Christians. In tomorrow’s thought for the day, I’ll share some thoughts on what these verses from Paul have meant to me.
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