Do You Have Hope?

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)

OK, I admit it. I have, on occasion, paid a dollar for a lotto ticket, just for the dream or hope of having enough money to put my kids through college. (Yes, and buy a Porsche.) I also remember greeting people at church as they came in and seeing my wife for the first time . I hoped to see her again. After church a week or so later I saw her again. After the service I went to the church bookstore hoping she might go by there. She did. We met, we dated, we got married and have four great kids. That is a hope fulfilled. 

Knowing Christ and hoping in him is more than just a dream like winning the lotto. Knowing Christ and hoping in him is more powerful than even the strongest love we can have as humans. Our hope in Christ purifies us. Sin always corrupts and pollutes us, physically and spiritually (on the outside and the inside).

Knowing Christ and hoping in him is an eternal experience. Eternity is not a ray, starting at one point and then continuing on forever. Eternity is the  past, the present and the future connected. Salvation is not just that Christ forgives our past sins. Salvation is more than the removal of our past transgressions and even the sins of the present. Knowing Christ as Savior and Lord is knowing that he forgives us all our sins (past, present and future) so we can enjoy his purity. Remember, in a marriage purity is not abstinence, rather, purity is faithfulness to your spouse. 

Knowing Christ, hoping in him is not just refraining from sin. Our hope is in the love of God that he lavished on us by making us his children. My hope, as God's child, is knowing that the Sovereign Lord of the universe has unfailing love for me and in Christ I am his child. 

Father, help us to purify ourselves by our hope in Christ, to live in his love. Thank you for you love for us in Christ. Praise be to you in us today!

MORE THAN KNOWING ABOUT

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 

2 Peter 1:5-7 (NIV)

I am a teacher so knowledge is pretty important in my world. Every day I am trying to help students learn a concept or master a skill to increase their knowledge. But knowledge without God is just vanity. 

Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Again in Proverbs 9:10 we are told, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Peter isn't talking about general knowledge, he is talking about knowing God. 

Peter was Jewish. The Hebrew concept of knowledge has to do with experiential knowledge. The NIV translates Genesis 4:1 "Adam lay with his wife Eve". The KJV reads "And Adam knew Eve his wife". The word is to know. The point is the Adam knowledge of Eve was not just in thought but in intimate experience.  Our knowledge of God is to be experiential. 

When Peter encourages us to add knowledge to our goodness and faith he's not talking about taking a lot of notes during church and reading books. Peter is talking about knowing God like you know your spouse of best friend. 

Father, help us to know you, to know you experientially. Open our eyes to see you in our lives. Praise be to you in us today!