Courageous Hope

Courageous Hope

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for
what we do not yet
have, we wait for it patiently.

Romans 8:24-25

I believe that HOPE is the second most powerful force in the world! The most powerful force, of course, is love (1 Corinthians 13:13) but hope runs a
close second. Hope sustains in the midst of great suffering. Hope inspires great achievement. Hope can save a floundering marriage or a nation at
war.
Hope is more important than the air we breathe or the food that we eat. We need air, food, water, shelter and clothing to stay alive physically, but
we need hope to stay alive spiritually. We need hope to be human. We need hope to believe in anything. And HOPE, properly understood, requires
courage.

What is HOPE and why does it require courage? Let me define it this way: Hope is the fierce longing for a preferred
future that shapes the way we
live today. Now there are lesser kinds of hope that are more like "wishful thinking." Hoping to win the lottery or hoping that
the Cubs will win the
World Series qualifies as this kind of "lesser hope" (my apologies to Cubs fans!). True hope, fierce
hope, is a different thing altogether. True hope
is what you feel when your expectant wife goes into labor; it's what you feel the moment after you say the words "Will you marry me?" but before she
answers; and it's what the Bible says followers of Jesus are to feel ALL THE TIME.

HOPE, the Apostle Paul teaches us, is most fierce when it is focused on that which is certain but, as of yet, unseen. As followers of Jesus our hope
is certain because in Him we have the promise of eternal life. But we have not yet received the fullness of that promise - we have not yet seen or
experienced heaven! So we wait with a kind of fierce longing for that which God has promised to be revealed. This means we live now in light of what
we shall be! That's courageous hope!

This weekend at FBCG we will be celebrating this "courageous hope" by celebrating our commitment to Short Term Missions. Why do we joyfully go to
places like Turkey, Ecuador or Africa to share the hope of Christ when it takes so much effort to do so? Well, simply put, because Jesus told us to!
Jesus commanded us to use this time of waiting to share His HOPE with our neighbors, with our family, with our friends, and with the world that He
died to save.

Make it a priority to join us this weekend to celebrate the hope that Jesus gives, and to be part of sharing this hope with the world!

Visit my blog, Coffey Break. I'd love to hear from you.

www.fbcg.com