One of the great gifts of living is to experience hope. For the people we love. For things to turn out right. For our dreams to come true. And from the God Story we learn that our ultimate destiny is one of great hope – what God calls heaven.
It appears that hope has multi-unfolding purpose in the life of a Christ-follower. When we come to know Jesus, we turn from a paradigm of self-gratification and ultimate futility to one of purpose and destiny. Life circumstances do not get easier, of course, but the way we process life through purpose and ultimate destiny has a great deal to do with whether or not we live with a satisfied, peaceful mind.
For instance, ultimately happiness is not based upon how we are esteemed or what we accumulate, but upon what happens on the inside – within our soul. We must always process the illusion that “this is all there is” and enter into God’s world of ultimate hope and meaning. What I call a satisfied mind is often termed being “at peace.”
God clearly attempts to lead us past the allure of a mere material world into His world – where everything has meaning – and where He will make all things new. We live in the faith arena (not necessarily our choice), and hope (and love) are God’s great assets to unlocking the values and companionship of our Creator.
Heavy duty, my friend. But liberating in a alternate-human/counter-culture kind of way.
It is why we fix our eyes on Jesus.
“Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.” – Hebrews 12:2/the Message
Dave & Burnadette