True Christian Hope [Advent Week 3 Reflection]

Today I'll be speaking on one of the reasons why God led the Israelites into the desert for 40 years, that is to teach them true hope. When God led Israel into the desert, they had to learn to set aside their idols and to desire God and His ways, to hope in Him. As Christians, Advent is a season of hope, so this is a great time for us to pray for a greater gift of hope in our own lives. 

For the Christian, the word "hope" means to desire God and the things of God. This can be hard to understand in our hearts because we easily default to hoping for the things of this world, for example,  for a new car, the next promotion at work, better relationships or even for healing of sickness or injury. For some reason it's just easier for us to hope for things that are tangible. One way that we can move beyond this and tap into true Christian hope is by reflecting back on our experience of those earthly desires that we have achieved or obtained. Although our achievements are usually accompanied by some temporary satisfaction, ultimately we find ourselves again unsatisfied and craving for more. 

C.S. Lewis said it well, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” Instead of despairing when we realize that none of our earthly desires can fully satisfy us, we can acknowledge that Jesus alone can satisfy all of the desires of the human heart; Jesus Christ is our true hope and we grow in hope as we fix our eyes on Him in heaven. 

Part of the great news is that Christian hope does not only apply to after our death, when we hope to be in heaven with God for all eternity. But the coming of Jesus at the Incarnation which we celebrate soon at Christmas, the kingdom of God has already broken into this earth in an incomplete way. We can already experience some level of the peace, purpose and unity that Jesus brought to earth. Our hope in Jesus should be an encouragement both for now and for all eternity.

May God bless you as you prepare for the coming of Jesus during these last two weeks of Advent and I pray that Jesus increases the gift of hope within you this week. 

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