“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Romans 8:24-25)

Today’s verse came from https://www.verseoftheday.com/ and is a great follow-on to Pastor Tanner’s message yesterday on Christian hope. In his sermon, he highlighted an important question, “What do we hope for?” As Christians, we know that Jesus will return and set creation right. We know this as truth, based on God’s promise, but we still consider this hope because the details have been hidden from us. We know it will happen, but we don’t know (exactly how) or when Christ will return – so we continue to have faith in the promises of our Savior. And we call this faith hope. Paul writes “For in this hope we were saved.” And when Paul wrote this, he no doubt was referring to the hope we have in Christ Jesus. Because our redemption will come from the saving grace, faith, and hope we have in our Savior Jesus. God will end all evil. He will free our bodies from all sickness, and we will spend an eternity with our Heavenly Father. Guided by the light of God we will be fed by the tree of life; needing nothing else apart from worshiping God who created us and gave us our new eternal homes. So going back to the question Pastor Tanner gave to the congregation, what do we hope for? My prayer is that we all will look to Christ Jesus, and hope for the “hope that saves.” The hope that Jesus will come for us. The hope that delivers peace in a way only God can provide. I pray that we can overlook the world’s deceptions on happiness and find true joy in Christ alone. I pray that we all continue to “hope for what we do not yet have, [and] wait patiently” for Him who we have our hope set on – Jesus.