Looking for Hope

I resisted getting glasses for as long as I could. I delayed it for a whole lot longer than I should. When I finally went to an optometrist, I walked out with a prescription for bifocals! When my new glasses came in, it was as if my eyes had been enlightened to see things that for years had only been a blur. And that included those big green signs along the interstate!

Paul wrote, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people” (Ephesians 1:18). Paul’s connection to the Ephesians was a deep one. He gave thanks for them regularly (v. 16). He prayed they might know God in a deeper way (v. 17). He then prayed for the eyes of their hearts to be enlightened to know a special gift from God – hope.

Hope is an interesting word. It looks in several directions at once. First, it looks backwards. Paul wanted believers to know “the hope to which he has called you” (v. 18). We are part of a called community and can look back on the history of God’s faithfulness to that community. Hope sees that “not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed” (Joshua 23:14). God’s faithfulness has been a constant through the generations; we can rightly trust it to continue for generations to come.

Hope also looks toward the future. Paul described it as “the riches of his glorious inheritance” (v. 18). While we have not yet received our full inheritance, we know it is secure for us in Christ. Peter echoed this theme when he wrote we have “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you” (I Peter 1:4). Hope can look forward to our future inheritance because it is reserved in God’s very presence.

Not only does hope look backward and forward, it also looks around to see expressions of “his incomparably great power for us who believe” (v. 19). We just need to train our eyes to look for them. I have a friend who, when their kids were little, played a game with them he called “I Spy.” At mealtime, everyone was asked to share an “I Spy” moment, when God was seen at work at some point during the day. He said it disciplined them to look for God’s activity in things both large and small.

Hope is a powerful commodity. John Stott writes, “God called us to know, love, obey and serve Christ, enjoy fellowship with him and with each other, and look beyond our present suffering to the glory which will one day be revealed. This is the hope to which he has called you.” This hope enlightens our eyes and enlivens our hearts. It is captured in the lyrics of Phil Wickham's song. Check it out: Living Hope by Phil Wickham.

I love what I heard one little boy say after getting his first pair of glasses. He said “Wow, it's like seeing in HD.” My prayer for you today is that you can look back, look forward, and look around and see the power and presence of God – clearly and in HD!

Blessings,
Pastor David