Christian hope - what is it?

It was Robert Louis Stevenson who said: ‘To travel hopefully is a better thing than

to arrive’, by which I think he meant that the working towards a goal can be more

fulfilling than the actual attaining of that goal. Or taking it at a lighter level, a

child’s hope and anticipation of Christmas can be more exciting than Christmas

Day itself.

Hope is an essential part of Christianity; hope, that is, in the sense of anticipation

and expectation rather than mere wishful thinking.

So what is this Christian hope? The New Testament author, Paul, writing to fellow

Christian believers said, ‘I consider that our present sufferings are not worth

comparing with the glory to come.’ And he knew about sufferings first-hand. What

is this ‘glory to come’, the goal of Christian hope?

Before attempting to answer, I must first digress. I’m of an age where I know of

many people who are really struggling with disease, failing body parts and minds

that no longer function properly. Increasingly, I hear announcements that so-and-

so has died. Such things are not restricted to the older generation either, my

daughter’s close friend Amy has just died of cancer leaving a husband and six-

year-old daughter. Amy was just 35.

So, what of that ‘glory to come’, the goal of Christian hope? Well, how do we

describe Heaven? We can’t. But here’s part of what has been revealed by God in

the Bible. No longer frustrated by our human frailties of this present life, we’ll be

completely free to enjoy the purpose and fulfilment that God has for those who

love him. All evils will have been banished, justice will have been enacted and

death will be no more.

This is Christian hope and as such is only for Christian people, but it can be yours

also. However, Christian faith must preceed Christian hope. Faith in Jesus,

means trusting him when he claims to be all that we need for this life and the life

to come

Amy (mentioned above) died with Christian hope, which she freely spoke about

with others right up to the end. Amy was a Bible reader and so would have known

this verse: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God

has prepared for those who love him...’