Our Living Hope

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, …”- 1 Peter 1:3  

          People need to have hope. Without hope life is dry, dismal and mundane. Without hope, peace escapes us, and comfort is hard to find. Hope. Hope for tomorrow. Hope for the future. Hope: “a feeling of expectation and desire, believing that something good may happen.” As Christians we not only have hope, but we have a “living hope”. Jesus Christ is not dead, but rather is very much alive and is seated at the right hand of Almighty God. Because He rose from the dead, we have hope. His return in the clouds someday is called “the Blessed Hope”. We praise God because in His unfathomable wisdom He sent His own Son; His only Son, to die for the sins we committed. We are to blame for our sins. No one made us sin. No one put a gun to our heads and told us we must sin or die. We broke God’s laws and were found guilty. Jesus came to earth in the form of a created being to take on all our sins and because of that a seed of hope was planted. It bloomed into the living hope we now have upon His glorious resurrection. 

          Peter uses such wonderful words that give a person hope. Mercy, new birth, living hope, resurrection; these words are powerful words. The mercy of God is compassion personified. It is within God’s authority and power to punish us for our sins; however, in His mercy and grace He forgave us. If you honestly consider all the wrong you have ever done in your entire life and then multiply it by untold millions you might come close to the number of sins God has forgiven. When Christ went to the cross, He bore all those sins. If we have a conscience, the guilt of one sin is weighty enough for us to bear. Our guilt and regret become heavy and is designed to drive us to repentance. Think of the immense weight Christ bore for each one of us. This is God’s incredible mercy and grace in action. This is what gives us hope; sins forgiven, a clean slate. If we have received Christ in our hearts and actually asked God to forgive our sins from a sincere heart, then we are born again and are living in the grace of God; His undeserved favor. And because Christ lives, we have a hope that is forever living and breathing. If you are His then someday, He will return for you and take you to be with Him in heaven for all eternity. Rejoice in this great news! Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries