Hope: Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflection

Today is the first Sunday of the advent and which is dedicated to hope.

Our religion is based on faith and hope. Hebrews 11:1 says Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen". So faith is pretty much clear but what is hope?

Hope is always in the future tense. It could be immediate, intermediate or long term. "Give us this day our daily bread", a hope in the immediate future of fulfilment of our immediate needs, our wellness and health and the wellbeing of family and friends. 

But we must keep in mind that the destination of a follower is beyond this world and hence that hope we have extends into a life beyond what we have, to a New World, established by the Son, described so vividly in Revelations. The “city of the living God,” will be a spectacular place according to God’s perfect design. And, as one writer put it, "the heavenly Jerusalem will be “a place of unimagined blessing.” 

Where All Nations and People Will Worship Jesus - Revelation 7:9-10, and where Heaven Will Be Filled with Peace, Joy, and Praise - Revelation 7:15-17. Where we will be united with loved ones, where no disease or sadness will exist and "The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD. Isaiah 65:25 (NASB). 

Therefore, our hope is that after our physical death, we will experience all of this.

Today our hope may be for a job, children or a life partner or wellness; but the larger picture is beyond the apparent; my hope is that one day I will be reunited with my wife, my children, my brother and sisters, my parents, my grandparents and all those whom I have loved and known; my hope is the peace and rest I will experience in my Fathers mansion with Jesus Christ. 

All this I can hope for because of a Jesus Christ, who is the bridge to my relationship with God and citizenship in Heaven. 

I therefore, hope and believe that the Biblical prophecies will become a reality and that we will prevail with Jesus. With this hope we look forward to the birth of Jesus Christ, who made it all possible.