HOPE – A Wondrous Gift

 Do you see it?  Hope is here.  It’s everywhere!  In all of God’s glorious creation, hope is waiting

to bless you.  Hope is found inside a speckled bird’s egg, beneath the plowed earth, curled up in a 

cocoon, within a grey cloud, under that mossy rock, and best of all ~ as written in Romans 5:5 

~ in the hearts of God’s people.  

                         Romans 5:5  “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love

                         of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who

                         was given to us.”

   Yes!  The love of God is intimately connected to hope.  John 3:16 speaks of God’s love and our 

hope of a home in heaven through faith in Christ Jesus. 

                          John 3:16  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and 

                          only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have 

                           eternal life.”

   WOW, eternal life!!!  This is indeed the most wondrous hope of all.  Does one dare to 

believe it?  Is it real?  Is there evidence for this hope? 

     We don’t hesitate to acknowledge the reality of hope in nature.  After all, our confidence in the

various possibilities is easy to prove.  The evidence of what was hoped for can not only be seen

but touched as well.  Tiny hatchlings replace speckled eggs.  Seedlings pop up where only barren 

furrows were in the field.  A colorful butterfly struggles free of its casing to unfurl its wings and

dry in the sunlight.  A squirmy worm wiggles into sight and becomes fishing bait.  Raindrops 

fall to nourish the land.  These examples are often called God’s little miracles, and we have no

trouble believing in them. 

   Now consider the good news of the gospel in John 3:16.  We are being invited to believe in Jesus 

and His resurrection ~ God’s greatest miracle ~ which holds for us the hope of heaven.  Is there

evidence for this hope too?  Take a look in scripture.  Mark 9:31 recounts Jesus telling His 

disciples He would rise after three days.  It is written in Matthew 28 that the women found the 

tomb empty where Jesus’ body had been lain.  An angel told the women that Jesus had risen just as 

He had said.  That same day Jesus appeared to His disciples in the flesh.  This event is recorded in 

John 20:19-20.  We also read that a week later Jesus again came and stood among His disciples. 

John 20 concludes with this verse, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the

Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”          

   Yes, as explained above, there’s historical proof that eternal life through faith in Jesus is based on 

true events.  Thus, even though we can’t physically see or touch this supporting evidence, our 

hope of heaven is as real as the hope inside a bird’s egg.  Believe it!  

   And guess what?  God’s greatest miracle and the hope it gives can begin making a tremendous

difference in your life the very moment you believe.  This hope has been credited for sustaining

and inspiring many in their most difficult moments.   It can produce incredible strength.  Examples

include stories about the survival of soldiers in Prisoner of War camps who are daily faced with

physical abuse and lack of food.  Knowing that in life, or in death, they belong to the Lord enables

them to keep going while awaiting rescue.  Patients in hospice beds and their families also need to

be strong.  It’s not easy to say goodbye to loved ones.  Embracing God’s promise of eternal life

 replaces anxiety with peace.  The otherwise darkness of this moment is transformed into light.  

   God is good and wants to fill our lives to the top and overflowing with His wondrous gifts of 

hope.  I  pray you welcome them in all their miraculous forms.  Plant seeds and wait to see them 

sprout, bud, and open into lovely flowers.  Watch raindrops fall from grey clouds, turning parched

yards into green lawns.  And, best of all ~ believe the good news of God’s amazing love, claim its

hope for you, and look forward to your forever home in heaven!

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