Day 59: What is The Hope Set Before Us?
Today we discuss Hope. Hope is not “wishful thinking.” Hope is confident expectation. For those who are following Jesus – He is our HOPE! As we have already heard, Hope is the movement in our “depths” that leads us to faith.
WORDwork:
1 John 3:1-3
Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him. 3:2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. 3:3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.
According to verse 1, how has the Father given His love to us?
Why do you think John emphasizes the fact that we are God’s children now?
What is the meaning of “what we will be has not yet been revealed”?
Who will we be like when we “see him just as he is”?
Can you explain verse 3 in your own words?
John was overwhelmed with the truth that Father God loved us so much that He would actually welcome us into His eternal family!!! For all of us who have placed our faith—our trust and confidence—in Jesus, the Father has given us His love in the form of a new name: God’s Children.
This awesome position and membership in Father-God’s family also defines our identity: we are God’s children now. In Christ, you are a child of the One True God and there is no honor or privilege greater than being part of His Eternal Family. This new identity should saturate and permeate every part of our thoughts, desires and emotions. Before we move on, consider this:
Key REALIZATION:
Your identity is formed by your relationships with others.
Who you are is shaped by your personal relationships.
In this workbook, we are going to look at 12 primary blessings that shape our new identity in Christ. In many ways, this blessing of being included in Father-God’s family by our new spiritual birth and adoption is the culmination of all the other blessings that we will hear about in this unit. There is no greater thing that can be said about you other than, “You are a beloved child of God.” The other blessings either support this primary idea or equip us to live in the reality of this great and glorious calling.
When we see Christ face to face, we will be like Him.
Notice that John says, “what we will be has not yet been revealed.” Yesterday, we read Colossians 3:1-3 which told us that our lives are “hidden with Christ in God.” Who and what we truly are in our essence, in our core, has not yet been fully shown, revealed!
But notice also that You and I will one day be just like Christ!!! One day we will be free of sin and made perfect. Our condition, the reality of our day to day living, will be brought into full balance with our position in Christ. This perfection will not happen until we see Christ face to face. In Romans 8, we hear:
Romans 8:28-29
And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, 8:29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. {NET}
Don’t get hung up in that “predestination” language at this point (it is not as bad as it sounds). For now simply take note that God is working all things together for our good so that we will ultimately be conformed to the image of Christ. This means, just as John explained, that God the Father desires that we be like Jesus in all things. One day, this will be completely true of us. For now, Father-God is shaping us and molding us into people who will fully bear the image and likeness of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is our Hope.
For now, we hope toward that day. And it is this hope that brings our purity. Read again what John says in 3:3 above: “And everyone who has this hope focused on him purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure.” In order to understand this statement, first of all remember how we have defined hope:
Key Definition: Hope
Hope is the confident expectation that our lives will turn out well because God will be who He promises to be and do what He promises to do. Hope is built on the foundation of God’s past works, yet always looks to the future completion and perfection of these works.
Hope, as defined by the Scriptures and lived out by the faithful who have come before us, is not just wishful thinking; it is confident expectation. Because Father-God is faithful to us in Christ through His Spirit, we can have assurance that His purposes for us will be accomplished.
There are some old sayings like, “We become what we behold” or “We become what we worship.” These are true statements. Consider the times that the Scriptures call for us to “look” to Christ and focus on Him and to “see” what God has done and is doing to us in Christ:
Hebrews 12:2
Let us run the race …keeping our eyes on Jesus,…
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look (Behold!), new things have come.
Right now, in the here and now, if you are in Christ, you are a new creation! Your old way of life dead in Adam is gone and you have a new Origin and a new Destiny and therefore a whole new Meaning and Purpose for life. Christ Jesus Himself gives shape to the reality of this new life. We are called to focus hopefully on Him. As we do this, our thoughts, desires and emotions are purified and we are transformed to reflect more and more of Christ’s own truth, goodness and glory.
We have covered quite a bit today. Take a few minutes to look back over the main points and Scriptures and take note of the truths that have impacted you the most.
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
