Hope

At present my Twitter feed seems to be full of people and organisations saying it is important to have hope in the middle of this pandemic or the US election or Brexit.  People need hope, they say.  But they never say what they mean by hope or how you are supposed to get it!

We use the word ‘hope’ for many things. I hope the weather will be fine tomorrow.  I hope I’ll get something nice for my birthday.  I hope Inga doesn’t pee on the floor today!  In all these cases we use the word hope to mean ‘It would be nice if….’.  We might wish for something, but have very little control over whether it will happen or not.

We also use the phrase to ‘give hope’ to someone or some community.  Here we usually mean we want to turn negative thoughts or ways to positives.  This could be by giving people who have lost their crops new seed and tools so that they can grow more, or talking to someone who is ill saying they will get well.  While this type of hope has its uses, it is still a wish not a certainly.

In English, the word Hope has changed its meaning over the years.  When the word Hope is used in the Bible its meaning is not a wish or positive thoughts.  The word translated into English as Hope means a future certainty. 

I say that again.  Christian Hope is a Future Certainty.

This is the type of hope we need, and the type of hope we need to share.  It doesn’t come by trying to think positively, but as a by-product of our faith.  Positive thinking can help when down or in trouble, but what we all need is future certainty. 

As the hymn says:

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!