Our Blessed Hope

 Today was such a wonderful day!  I can't believe Dan and I were actually able to go for a walk around our neighborhood.  It feels like it's been such a long winter.  Even though it was pretty mild...it just felt long and exhausting. I know tomorrow is supposed to rain and all that jazz. But today...ahhh...what a tall and refreshing glass of pure anticipation for better things to come!

The warmth of the sunshine filled my heart with the yearning of spring, the season of renewal, the season of rebirth. In this Holy Week, as we are entering the days of remembrance of what Our Lord, Jesus, the Messiah, The Christ sent by God the Father, did for us making this season also the season of hope.

As I was thinking of this I looked over a pile of papers on my messy work station here at home, and I saw a church bulletin from a few Sunday's ago where I had scribbled on the sermon notes the diagram that our Pastor has been sharing with us to train us on how to talk to others about God's plan of salvation.  The diagram goes something like this

Taken from https://friendshipwired.com/3circles

The diagram is meant to be a simple way to share the good news of salvation with unbelievers and those who have never heard about God's plan for us.  I'm not sure I have ever gotten it right...but it goes something like this:  It starts with God's perfect design for humanity, but then, we tend to run toward sin which causes brokenness and interruption of the unfolding of that perfect design.  The way to be made whole again is through repentance and believe as we dive into the Gospel where Jesus' death and resurrection restores us and redeems us so we can get back on track again into God's plan. 

I love the diagram and I pray the Holy Spirit gives me the courage to use it someday.  But what caught my attention on that paper was something I had written above the diagram and enclosed in a frame.  I usually do that as a way to highlight ideas I want to be able to find easily later as I review my typically scattered and hard-to-read, semi-pathetic efforts at note-taking.  Anyway, the words I frame were:  This is the Hope.

I'm not sure why I phrased it that way.  I'm not sure I like it, to tell you the truth.  It kind of sounds like wishful thinking rather than certainty.  Today, I'd like to amend my editorial comment and take out the "the."  God's plan depicted on the three circle diagram is not "the" Hope.  God's restoring master design is Hope itself, or Himself, I should say.  It is pure and unadulterated Hope, because Hope is Jesus.  Our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ is Our Blessed Hope. (Titus 2: 13)

Just as I inhale the last few rays of today's sunshine, my cup runs over with Hope not just for the beauty of nature awaking from its winter slumber, but with true Hope, the one that Only comes from Him, Our Hope of glory.  In the precious Name Above All Names.  Amen!