What does hope mean to you? What are the things that you put your hope in? Is it your money? Your career? Your health? Friend, those things will not always last. Money fades, jobs come and go, and our health deteriorates. Hope is defined as a feeling of trust or of expectation and a desire for something to happen. In Biblical terms, it is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness (1). This type of hope is what makes Christianity unique (see Heb. 6:13-19). Many in our world today have their hope stored up in the wrong things. We would do well if we placed our hope in Jesus Christ. Why? Because He claimed and has proven that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Let’s explore the three reasons Jesus gave for why we should hope in Him.
He’s the Way to God
In order to get to God, we must get through Jesus. There is no other way that man can have a relationship with the Father—they must first wholly commit themselves to the Son. And guess what? ANYONE can come to Christ and be enjoined with Him, the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 3:16; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Heb. 2:9). Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5). He is the only Man whom God has “exalted” to the highest place (Phi. 2:9). He promises eternal life to all who believe in Him (John 3:14,15). But Jesus isn’t the only One who proclaimed that He’s the way to God. His disciples risked their lives to preach this truth to many after His resurrection. The apostle Peter said boldly, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, NKJV). What’s more, the apostle Paul stressed that he and his co-laborers suffered much in order to reveal the wonderful truth about Jesus (2 Cor. 4:8-14). We have to be thankful for men and women who have dedicated their lives to prove that Christ is the only way to God. In today’s pluralistic society, it’s prudent to reject the notion that all belief systems are acceptable and that there are many ways to get to God. Friend, there is only one way, and we have to go through Jesus in order to realize that.
He is the Truth from God
Jesus, who is the Word, became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1; 14). Jesus communicated God’s truth to man so that we may know the Father’s will (John 8:31,32; 47; 55). So then, everyone who seeks to know the truth must listen to the One God sent (Heb. 1:1-2). Many today are listening to the wrong people and are seeking after unwise counsel. False teachers abound today and that’s because their hearts are in the wrong place. Rather than submitting to the Truth, they would disseminate lies which is why there is so much confusion in the world of “Christendom” today (2 Tim. 3:5). True wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ alone--not in world religions, not in denominationalism, and not in philosophies or ideologies (Col. 2:2,3). Friend, the Bible teaches plainly that God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). Honest hearts must look to Jesus, the Truth, so that He may lead them down the right path, which is eternal life (John 10:28-30).
He is Life
The Messiah came so that we “may have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). No one else can afford us with the type of life that Jesus can. There are those who may think that this life is all there is but they are clearly mistaken. Jesus promises us a better life in this age and the one to come. He said, “I am the bread of life. . . . if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51). Jesus is giving everyone the opportunity to partake of His goodness so that they may live eternally with Him forever in heaven. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! (Ps. 34:8). The apostle John made it very clear that without Christ, we do not have life (1 John 5:12). We are made alive through Him (1 Cor. 15:22). Living your best life really starts and ends with Jesus and we have no one but God to thank for His indescribable gift of salvation (Rom. 6:23b).
Jesus, the true source of our hope, invites us all to have a relationship with Him (Matt. 11:28-30). Money fades, friends and family come and go, but Jesus remains constant. If you want stability in your life, then store up your hope in Jesus. He can take care of you and lead you to a place far better than the one you’re in now. Faithful saints know they are headed toward an incomparable destination, the eternal city of God! Jesus is their way to reach the goal—the only way to the Father in heaven (John 14:6), and He is our single hope (1 Timothy 1:1) (2).
Endnotes
1 “Chapter I: THE CHRISTIAN HOPE.” Wiley Online Library, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 16 Apr. 2010, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1758-6623.1952.tb01593.x.
2 House to House Heart to Heart, et al. House to House Heart to Heart, 6 June 2016, housetohouse.com/whats-so-great-about-following-jesus-4/.
