Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Wednesday August 22, 2007

Alexander Pope wrote:

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
Man never is, but always to be blest.
The soul, uneasy and confined from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come."

It is possible that Pope had First Corinthians 15:19 in mind and heart when he wrote his famous lines. It is the hope clearly defined by Paul in this passage that gives tremendous power to the persecuted, suffering man or woman to continue to search out and follow the beckoning star along the heavenly way. Paul's verse states:

"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

The true hope for the Christian is one that transcends the limits of earth and is projected into the vastness of eternity. Sometimes God permits all vestige of human hope in this life to be destroyed, we hope in a person only to see the frailty of the human, we hope in status only to be ruined by disaster. D.L. Moody wrote, "Every day the world turns over on someone who thought they were permanently on top."

The hope of the Christian is secure in that even when the earth is consumed with re-creative fire, our hope is safe in what is called the next life, but more accurately the heavenly extension of the life redeemed.

I often hear preachers extolling the financial benefits of the Christian life, when if they told the truth the vast majority of Christians on planet earth live in abject poverty and are sustained and strengthened by the hope in Abraham's heart as he looked for a city, the hope of Moses as he saw Him who is invisible. And the burning hope of the untold names or numbers called "others" in Hebrews 11:36-40, a passage very difficult to read while keeping the eyes dry. They experienced the fountain of springing hope while being subjected to the unspeakable, yet they saw the city and the saviour.

The importance of hope above this earthly existence is more powerful at the spiritual level than is nuclear power on the physical plane.

The statement of Paul makes it plain that hope beyond the river of death is more important than winning the billion dollar lottery, than having your fondest dreams become reality, for the things of earth have written upon them, "This too shall pass away." Yet the promises of the Lord concerning heaven shall never pass away, they are eternally reserved in heaven for those who know Christ.

Thomas Fuller wrote:

"If it were not for hope, the heart would break."

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit

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