In yesterday’s post I referred to the fact that when I see a friend or family member I haven’t talked with for a while, I might ask if they are encouraged or discouraged at the moment. Another way to get at the same information is to inquire: “How’s your hope?”

The question may sound trite but it’s actually quite profound. I’m convinced that we human beings are wired to run on  a sense of hope. If we lose it, we’re toast.

But what is hope?

Somewhere along the way I came to think of theological hope as a confident, enthusiastic expectancy regarding the future. It’s the idea that because of who God is, what he has done, and what he is doing in my life, I have absolutely nothing to worry about. It’s all good; my future is secure!

The experience of this kind of hope is so important to the life of the Christian that the Apostle Paul made it the focus of his prayer for the believers in Rome: 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Indeed, if you read Paul’s various letters carefully, I think you will discover that he wanted all of his readers to be filled with this sense of expectancy regarding the future.

I have a theory as to why.

In 1 Corinthians 13:13 we read: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Yes, love is the greatest virtue, but in what sense? Surely, Paul was not dissing faith and hope here, was he?

When you stop and think about it, our capacity to love in the present in based upon the hope we have regarding the future. This, in turn, is based upon our faith in what God has done for us in the past. Do we truly believe (have faith in) the message that Christ died for us and has been raised from the dead as the firstfruits of our future resurrection (1 Cor 15:20)? If so, then we will possess a truly profound kind of hope: it’s all good; our future is secure! It is this kind of confident, enthusiastic expectancy regarding our future that frees us to love in the present. We don’t have to be selfish with our time, or talents, or treasures. We can afford to be gracious toward other people. Our future is not at stake. We are not just set for life; we’re set for all of eternity! It is this kind of theological hope that frees us to be loving people. Faith, if genuine, produces hope which, in turn, frees us to love.

There is a sense in which hope functions as the anchor virtue between faith and love. It’s no wonder then that Paul talked about hope so often, even doing his best to pray it into his readers’ lives!

So, if you want to function as a more loving, gracious, generous person today, you might ask yourself: “How’s my hope? Then take a moment and give some thought as to how secure your future is in Christ. It’s all good! You can afford to be really generous toward others today. 

Now, go and do it!