Crazy Hope

"Hope"...this is another word in our culture that has really lost its meaning. In many ways, we have really devalued the word hope. We use the word now when we speak of things that we believe to be beyond our control or our power. For example, we say things like, "I hope I get that promotion"... "I hope I pass that test"... "I hope the falling stock market doesn't completely destroy my retirement." It really breaks my heart to hear people use such a powerful word in such an unpowerful way. For believers, hope is not uncertian at all. On the contrary, hope is certianty. Hope is confident expectation. Hope is the fulfillment of God's promises to his people. Hope is what God gives, and hope is what sustains.

There are two different aspects of Christian hope. For us, our hope is a definite, present reality. And, hope is a confident, future anticipation. Within both aspects there lies a power from God that is very real, yet because of our humanistic worldview, for many of us it is not fully realized. We as followers of Christ need to recapture the extraordinary, remarkable aspect of hope we have in Christ. We must reclaim our "Crazy Hope" so that we may find the strength and courage to persevere within a fallen world.

Read: Ephesians 1:13-2:10

Our crazy hope is rooted in a crazy powerful God! Paul speaking to the Ephesians (and to us), is reminding us that as we believed in the gospel we were marked with a seal. That seal is the promised Holy Spirit which guarantees our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession. The Holy Spirit is our mark of hope. In this hope, Paul prays that we might also come to realize the riches of his glorious inheritance and his incomparably great power. What about this power?

Well, this power is the same mighty strength exerted by God when he raised Christ from the dead...placed him in the heavenly realms at his right hand..."far above" all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given...the same power that put everything under the feet, under the lordship of Christ. The idea here is that no matter what kind of god or celestial being you and I might believe exists, no matter what kind of god or celestial being we might be able to dream up, no matter what kind of god, being, or thing we might believe deserves our worship, none of them could ever have, or will ever have, more power and authority than Christ.

Here is the best part! Notice in vv. 22-23 of chapter 1 where all of that power and authority is being concentrated. It is all given to Christ for the church! The church is us, right!? That same power that raised Christ from the dead, seated him next to God in the heavenly realms, and placed everything under his feet; that same power lies within you and me. That power is ours for we are the fullness of Christ and Christ fills everything in every way. It is Christ that we serve, and it is his church he fills! Because of the incomparably great power, we rejoice in some amazing blessings that are already fully real.

Our crazy hope is a present reality! There are promises of God that have already been fulfilled. There are blessings from God that are already a very real part of our everyday lives. These promises and blessings provide for us a present hope that gives us a confidence and certianty that all of God's future promises will be reavealed. Take a look at the following verses (Eph. 1:3, 5, 7-8, 13-14; 2:5, 6, 10). Pay particulary close attention to verse 6 of chapter 2. Paul writes that we are already raised with Christ, we are already seated with him in the heavenly realms. Paul reassures us that as the church, Christ is in us and he fills us in every way. If Christ is in us and Christ has already been raised and seated with God, then in some sense we too have already been raised and seated with God. Our reservation has been made! Our hope is already secure! Our eternal home is a sure thing! With these blessings and Christ's power, Satan cannot take away what Christ has already shed his blood for! So, just tell Satan to back off in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ! We do have great blessing that are completely and fully real, but we also eagerly anticipate some amazing blessings that are not yet fully realized.

Our crazy hope is in our future glory! With a strength and power that is beyond the world we live in, we are able to overcome each day's struggles as we realize what has already been done for us. We are also able to live powerfully for what lies ahead because of the confident expectation of what we know will also be done for us. As human beings we must deal with the present reality of the world that we live in. As disciples of Christ, we can long for, dream of, and hope in a future glory that far outweighs anything this life has to offer. Look at these verses (Eph. 1:18; 2:7). Beyond this life lies the riches of his glorious inheritance. Beyond this life lies the incomparable riches of his grace. As followers of Christ, we have have grace beyond grace, love beyond love, wealth beyond wealth, and life beyond life. We too should pray daily that God lay on us his Spirit of wisdom and revelation that we might know him better. We too should pray daily that the eyes of our heart are enlightened that we may understand the hope that we have, as well as the hope to which we have been called.

Believers in Christ rejoice in a new life in Christ, but we await eternal life at the feet of Christ. We know that we have been raised with Chrsit, but we eagerly await the final resurrection. We know that we have been saved, but we are awaiting our salvation. We know we have been adopted, but we anticipate the day we are fully revealed as sons and daughters of the King. We know we are transformed, but we are waiting to be fully changed. Each day we experience the glory and power of God, but we anticipate the day when God's full glory and power will be revealed. What a God! What a hope! May prayer is that all believers, every day, will be able to live confidently because they have a "crazy" hope in a "crazy" powerful God.

Blessings.