Hope
The Rev. Lou Tiscione, Pastor, Weatherford Presbyterian Church (PCA)
The psalmist asked himself a question that many have asked. He received God’s answer. His question was, “Why am I depressed?” God’s answer was because he had no hope! Psalm 42:11 says, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (ESV).
What is this thing called hope? And why is it so important for men and women? Hope can be defined as an eager expectation of fulfillment of a future blessing. When people hope, they are expressing trust in or reliance upon the one whom they believe will bring fulfillment. The definition of hope expresses our need to have it. Without hope, we wander aimlessly in life and are tossed around by every one of its circumstances. When we see no future, we naturally get depressed.
There are many kinds of hope. For example, one of my hopes is that all men will realize that hope placed in a man will always lead to disappointment. Several years ago, the man who promised “hope and change” brought disaster in the form of a change that no one wanted. This is hope was false. It failed to bring a better life and instead brought deep division.
Like the hope I just mentioned, there is an endless array of temporal hopes. My personal hopes may not come to pass. Yet, I know that my life has purpose because I have a much different hope, an eternal hope.
What is eternal hope, or more correctly stated, ultimate hope? Thinking men and women know that there is more to life than what we see. This is not all there is, answering an old ballad. And as there is more to life than this world, there is a greater hope than our political, economic, or personal relationships can offer. It transcends this world and is far above and apart from it.
Ultimate hope is transcendent. No man can give it. In fact, we can’t even give it to ourselves. Only the transcendent being, God, can give ultimate hope. The transcendent God, the one who spoke and created everything out of nothing, said that ultimate hope is eternal glory. The Apostle Paul, writing God’s words, said, “the mystery hidden for ages but now revealed to His saints” is ultimate hope. He wrote this clear description. Ultimate hope is “Christ in you the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
It follows that God’s revelation of hope raises at least two questions. The first is easy to understand. Who gives ultimate hope? Clearly, God gives ultimate hope. The second is perhaps easy to see but strikes at the heart of man’s ability. To whom does God give ultimate hope? The former passage declares that ultimate hope is given by God to “His saints.” Now, we are led to understand what God meant by the word “saints”. Who are saints?
At this point, clarity is essential. Saints are not those who have departed this life and have been determined by some religious body to be holy people. Saints are those who have been set apart by God. Saints in the Bible are those whom God has chosen to be His.
A plain reading of Scripture allows us to see that God chose a man (Genesis 12); a nation (Deuteronomy 7); and both Jews and Gentiles (Galatians 3). The fact of God’s choosing individuals to be His saints is declared by Apostles Paul and Peter (Romans 9-11 and 1 Peter 2).
I’ve often asked myself why something so clear can be so confusing to some. The only answer that I can reasonably offer is that we don’t like to think that God must choose us. We like to think that He needs our help in selecting the “right” people. In this, though, it is only critical for us to know what God thinks and has told us.
The Bible’s clarity on this issue of ultimate hope and its recipients is the greatest comfort and assurance any man or woman can have. Since God gives it, no man can take it from you. Much more needs to be said concerning God’s gift of eternal hope and will, and Lord willing, more will come. But for now, I close with this revealed principle: God gives ultimate hope, which is eternal glory, to those whom He chooses in Christ.
