22 January 2019 - hope that does not disappoint

Today's Readings

(Audio)

We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness
for the fulfillment of hope until the end,
so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who,
through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises.

Paul wants us to have great hope because we need it. Without hope we become sluggish. From there it is a short distance to becoming lukewarm. This can undercut our patience and eventually even the faith that we need to inherit the promises. Paul wants us to have this hope because he knows God wants us to as well.

So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise
an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose,
he intervened with an oath,
so that by two immutable things,
in which it was impossible for God to lie,
we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged
to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.

We see in Jesus the fulfillment of our hope. We see God doing more than we can ask for or imagine in him. Even the sabbath, a basic element of the created order, finds new meaning in him.

"The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."

Without Jesus we find ourselves more oppressed by the law than liberated by it. We cannot discover the deeper truth of God's love which is always foundational. Jesus comes to us to give us this hope: that everything is coming from love, and is destined for love as its fulfillment. This hope will allow us to stand strong to the end, even to endure joyfully whatever may come.

He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has ratified his covenant forever;
holy and awesome is his name.
His praise endures forever.