Hope Floats

Hope is a positive word, but it can be used with negative connotations. A person can hope for what's right or they may hope for evil. As a youngster others told me "I hope you die!" That isn't much hope for me, but an actual outcome for them. I will die so their hope will come true.

"Hope" means many things to many people. For the layman, hope is the expectation that desired goals will be met. People have different goals, hence hope can be positive or negative from a psychological standpoint. In fact "positive" and "negative" is subjective as well! Therefore, hope and optimism are not the same. For the Christian our hope is that we shall go to heaven after we die. For those antagonistic to Christ their hope may be that Christians rot in hell. Which is positive and which is negative. It depends on with which group you identify!

Those without Christ have their hope in humanity. That's called humanism. Their viewpoint is that doing good deeds for mankind is fulfilling. Their hope lies within the realm of the world and their satisfaction is in doing good deeds. Their only reward is knowing that others lives are better because of what they did. As a consequence, humanism is self-worship. Their hope is in themselves. God has no place in outcomes nor eternal destinations. Those good and evil have the same destiny; extinction. There is no hope in extinction! People who believe in no eternal afterlife can only have hope in this life. It's fatalistic, deterministic, and pessimistic. Humans to them are no more special in the eternal scheme than a dying tree or a germ-carrying insect. We become our own  legacy and no more.

A legacy is what individuals hand down to subsequent generations. I will be known by what I write. I can skew reality by writing of only good and neglecting the bad in my life. I want my seed to remember me as righteous, patriotic, loving and fair. I write of those things! I have done evil many times. I'm not proud of those deeds and thoughts and want them concealed from posterity. Humanists hope is that their legacy will be viewed well after their demise. They may be inherently wicked people, but want the world to see them in a favorable light. Hence, hope for some humanists is meeting this goal: "He did good things for his fellow man!" While improving the lives of the downtrodden is a noble endeavor, it still offers non-substantial hope, even non-existent.

My legacy is the expectation that my actual love merits grace on the part of God. If I don't love God nor others, then why should I receive grace? I don't. The Bible defines Christian hope very well:

40:1 " I waited patiently for the Lord;

    he inclined to me and heard my cry.

2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

    out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

    making my steps secure.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,

    a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear,

    and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is the man who makes

    the Lord his trust,

For the Christian "hope" always has a positive connotation. It's a forward look that we'll be blessed  (verse 4) as we have faith that God is what he is and will do what he says he will do. He says that he has the power to save us and that he will. Christians trust what he says. That's faith! We are so sure of that God will follow through that we patiently wait on his timing, not knowing when, but what. He will "hear my cry", he will protect me from destruction, he will encourage me by drawing me from "the miry bog", he will put me on solid rock and make me secure, he will provide joy and allay my fears!  All these promises are indeed positive! I love God for doing all these things for me! By doing these things he's providing joy in my hope.

"Keeping me from destruction" is my hope! That will be my final reward for a sincere belief and trust in God. That work is a gift of God and is "faith". My hope is because I have faith:

Hebrews 11:1(ESV) "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

I can't see heaven. God lives in a supernatural world. That is the question: "Is the Kingdom of God real or is it a dream?" What's real is what can be experienced. I will know that heaven is real when I'm there. Until then I have the hope that it's real. Although I can't see the Kingdom of God by faith I know it's real! Knowing is "conviction". There is no way anyone can talk me out of my belief in heaven. Conviction is my firmly held belief. Faith, in other words, is that I'm positive that there is a heaven and I will reside there for eternity because I strongly believe what God did for me!

Hope and faith is truly circular in definition. I have faith because I am hopeful and I'm hopeful because I have faith!  Faith can't exist without hope and without hope faith is vanity. Exercising faith by walking in it is how we assure our hope!

Romans 15:13 ESV "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

We abound in hope. Why? Our God is a God of hope. We're hopeful because God gives us hope. With true hope we have joy and peace. Without hope joy and peace are a facade'. Those who believe in their own actions cannot possibly enjoy peace as Christians do, for there is nothing more that what they are now experiencing, and much of it is unpleasant!

So you believe. Congratulations! Even the demons believe! Do you have hope in Jesus? The hope of demons is that Jesus will be undermined. The hope of Christians is that we shall see Christ in all his majesty! Which hope do you choose? The hope of demons is that you'll serve them in eternal punishment. The hope offered by God is that we'll live in perfect bodies in an eternal mansion ecstatic with the joy of being with God. Which hope do you have?

So you believe, but don't walk in faith? Then why are you so positive and upbeat?

2 Corinthians 5:6 (ESV) "We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight."

Walking by faith and not by sight is that conviction that what God says is true and that he's real although we can't see him or what he promises. Walking by faith, then, is so much more than a mere belief in God's existence. It's trusting him. It's realizing that God offers hope!

I could talk all day long about a person's destiny if hope is not there, but that's "negative" from the standpoint of most people and we can't have that, can we? We must only speak of hope and never mention that there is no hope for those who fail to trust God! Since the gate to destruction is wide and the gate to salvation narrow, few should have hope, but many claim they do! That's false hope. We all must quit our positive outlook on our sinful lives and face reality: Hope is only for those who are faithful!

What is the opposite of hope?  Despair! That's negative. Those who're hopeful should be in despair! God has different standards for "good" than what we have! Humanists can do good things, but all the good they do is futile. God doesn't weigh "goodness" in terms of actions, but in terms of faith. There is one way to have faith:

John 14:6 (ESV) " Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

It's pretty clear! Since God resides in heaven the only gate to get there is belief in Jesus. By definition humanists, so optimistic and positive, can't make it to heaven! There is no hope for them. Why should those without a walk with Christ be so joyful? The answer is obvious "There should be no joy in Do-ville because mighty you have struck out!"