Day 11 - Faithful Hope

Child of Hope: An Advent Devotional

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Faithful Hope

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1,2

Joseph Conrad once commented, in a letter to Bertrand Russell, that he saw nothing in the human condition that suggested we would ever get any better. He felt a terrible sense of fatality. He was without hope. We may wince at Conrad’s pessimism,but we should not be surprised by it. He hit upon an important truth: without God there is no hope.

On the other hand, when God gives us the gift of faith, by which we can grasp the audacity of His love in sending His only Son, then we can know peace, both now and forever. In love, God initiated the rescue plan that saw Christ take the punishment of sin upon Himself. As a result, reconciled by His sacrifice and justified through faith, we may enter into a new relationship with the God who loves us so very much. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

We should take this to mean that, one day, we shall see God in His glory. When the earth has passed away, and when we stand in judgment before the One who made us, in as much as we claim the merits of Christ then we shall be safe, and the glory that is God shall be reflected in us.

Conrad reminds us that hope that is placed in anything other than God is bound to fail. Without God, we are condemned to continue to act according to our flawed natures, to maim and cheat and kill until no-one remains. Where is hope if our only hope is in human nature? That’s why we need God. Faith is the means by which we apprehend His peace; faith enables us to rejoice in hope of the glory that is to come. Faith says to God, “I trust You.” Without faith, we are a people without hope.

Prayer for the Day
Father God,
thank You for Your amazing gift in Jesus.
He is the best gift we could ever receive.
His sacrifice is the source of our peace.
May we know the joy that looks forward in hope.
For Your love’s sake.
Amen.