To many the word “hope” is a synonym for “wish.” As such, hope has little to do with assurance or certainty and mostly deals in the realm of preference. Even Christians sometimes struggle to fully comprehend the biblical usage of the word “hope.” It is as if our hope is a type of appendix to our Christianity. We have the body of New Testament doctrine which instructs us regarding salvation and living a faithful life, and as an added bonus, we get to go to Heaven when we die. But this is far from what the Bible teaches about the Christian’s hope. Hope is confident expectation. It implies assurance and enables us to face the future with courage. Far from an appendix, our hope is everything.
God is the foundation of our hope. David said, “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You” (Ps. 39:7). Our hope rests upon a God who has proven Himself faithful time and time again (Rom. 4:20-21). The resurrection of Christ is the surety of our hope. Ours is a “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3). Eternal life is the content of our hope. Peter described it as “an in heritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4).
The reason Paul could describe death as gain (Phil. 1:21) is because he knew the Christian’s hope. The certainty of eternal life through Jesus Christ is what enables us to face the future with confidence. It is this hope that sustains us (Heb. 6:18-19) as we wait for its realization. Our hope is everything.