What hope does Christianity offer the world?
These are turbulent times. We are living in a world that has become desperate for the word of hope that we share in our faith. If we just focus on what’s happening in our world around us, or even on the struggles of our own lives, we will suffocate in despair. But as we read through the Bible we realize this Book becomes a message of hope for our kind of world.
I love the way it is put in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
We have hope, for we know that we are never alone in our struggles in life. As Christians we belong to One who bore the name, Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” The Gospel story ends with Jesus saying, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:29). We are never alone for we are always in His care.
We have hope for we know that God is with us, at work within us, even when we are not aware of it. So often we become aware of God’s presence working within us through retrospect, looking back and seeing that God was there all the time. We can affirm with Paul, For it is God (through His Holy Spirit within) who works in you to will and act according to His good purpose! (Philippians 2:13). Even though we may not feel it or see it, God is there at work.
We have hope for we have a personal and loving God who hears and answers prayer. God spoke through Jeremiah (29:12) Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. There are times when those prayers are not answered when we want or even the way we want, but as we look back upon our lives we realize that God knows best. And it is true, We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
We have hope, now and forever, for we know that our destiny is in God’s hands. We have a destiny and future that is based on the promises of a faithful and loving God. We can affirm with Paul, There isn’t anything in all of creation, not even death itself, that shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Paraphrase of Romans 8:38-39).
John wrote that you can know that you have eternal life (I John 5:13).
Billy Graham said, “If you are in Christ, there is nothing hopeless about our future.”
We know that hope is essential to a person’s health and well-being. What oxygen is to the lungs, hope is to the human life. We can’t live in our kind of world without it. Praise God for the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Dr. David Thomas
