"I hope they have apple fritters," my wife told me as we went into the donut shop. Hope. It's a good thing. Merriam-Webster says it is "to want something to happen or be true." You might hope for a promotion or hope for a particular gift at Christmas or hope that someone says something nice to you or hope that you do well in the interview or test or whatever. It's a positive thing.
In our language, it's also sometimes a desperate thing. We hope that laws can be passed that will decrease gun violence. We hope that our least favorite candidate for office doesn't get elected. We even have a term: "hope against hope." It is intended to convey a desperate hope, a hope that is highly unlikely to actually be fulfilled.
I was curious where that phrase came from, so I looked it up. Surprise, surprise, it comes from the Bible. Writing about Abraham, Paul said, "In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, 'So shall your offspring be'" (Rom 4:18). Well, now, that's interesting. "Hope against hope" was a description of Abraham. Indeed, it was a description of Abraham's faith.
What does it mean? Abraham was without hope. That is, all reason indicated that this old man could have no offspring. His hope was minimal at best. What could he "want to be true"? Well, that he'd have an heir, of course, but that was a forlorn hope. And yet, against that hope, Abraham hoped. On what did Abraham base that hope? He based it on God's promise. Weighing in one hand "the hope that experience gives" and in the other "the hope of God's promise," Abraham hoped in one -- God's promise -- against the other. Thus, the original "hope against hope" was not a desperation, but a certainty.
Biblical hope, then, is something a bit different than ours. The hope of the "faith, hope, and love" that abide (1 Cor 13:13) is not the normal human hope. Human hope is "I hope (cross my fingers and pray)" and biblical hope is a confident expectation of something not yet present (Rom 8:24-25). An extension of faith. (Remember, "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for" (Heb 11:1).) Our hope in the promises of God isn't a "hope against hope" in our usual sense, but a confidence in God's faithfulness and the cheerful anticipation of the fulfillment of that hope. For us, hope is critical ... and entirely rational when placed on the God who provides.
8 comments:
Good stuff as usual.
We live in a society where hopelessness is rampant, and which suppresses the only source of True hope. Just like a naturalistic, utilitarian worldview strips value from life (strangely it seems to only strip value from human life, while elevating non human life), it also strips hope. If we're just a product of random chance and time, or a "computer made of meat", or without purpose beyond reproducing efficiently, where are we to find hope? If we've raised ourselves to the level of God, and lowered God to simply one of many equally valid paths, where do we find hope? If there is nothing beyond this physical world (no reward for good or punishment for evil), where do we find hope?
A Christianity stripped of hope, seems like c cruel and vicious hoax. A Christianity where the only hope that is offered is the hope of a handout of physical necessities seems like a hollow and worthless belief system.
Hope that politicians and political systems will solve our problems seems woefully misplaced.
It seems clear that we need to rethink hope.
Indeed. On the other hand, hope placed in a faithful God is a confident hope rather than a timid hope.
I completely agree. Unfortunately too many, both in and out of christianity, want to cast doubt on the existence, goodness, and power of the God who should be our only hope.
Yes. That's because human beings are idol factories, churning out replacements for God at every turn.
I guess it's been 20-25 years, but I recall listening to Rev. Kenneth Hagin in the car on my commute to work. He was preaching in his Texas accent about an incident in his church some years earlier. In compressed form, the conversation he recounted went----
KH: "Now do you believe you are going to be healed in His name?"
WOMAN: "Well, I sure hope so."
KH: "You HOPE so?"
WOMAN: "Yes I do."
KH: "Well now I know you are NOT going to be healed. Sorry. But only those who CLAIM they are going to be healed receive their healing."
Never was a Hagin fan. In this case, since biblical hope is faith, he's mistaken No matter which way you look at it.
That’s a great example of how false teachers take something that sounds correct superficially, but in reality is seriously wrong.
Seriously wrong on so many levels.
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