Christian Hope - More than Wishful Thinking
Hebrews 6:19 “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain”
Hope is called the anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:19), because it gives stability to the Christian life. But hope is not simply a 'wish' (I wish that such-and-such would take place); rather, it is that which latches on to the certainty of the promises of the future that God has made.
In the ancient world the anchor was the symbol of hope. Epictetus, a Greek Philosopher says: "A ship should never depend on one anchor or a life on one hope." Pythagoras said: "Wealth is a weak anchor; fame is still weaker. What then are the anchors which are strong? Wisdom, great-heartedness, courage--these are the anchors which no storm can shake." The writer to the Hebrews insists that the Christian possesses the greatest hope in the world.
Let us put it very simply in another way. Before Jesus came, God seemed to be the distant stranger whom only a very few might approach and that at peril of their lives. But because of what Jesus was and did, God has become the friend of every human being. Once humankind thought of him as barring the door; now they think of the door to his presence as thrown wide open to all.
The hope that God has provided for you is not merely a wish. Neither is it dependent on other people, possessions, or circumstances for its validity. Instead, biblical hope is an application of your faith that supplies a confident expectation in God's fulfilment of His promises. Coupled with faith and love, hope is part of the abiding characteristics in a believer's life.
4 To thee, the glory of thy power
And faithfulness I give:
I shall in Christ, at that glad hour,
And Christ in me shall live.
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