The Bible inspires hope. From Genesis to the Apocalypse runs a cheering current of anticipation. The catastrophe in the Garden of Eden provoked the wrath of God against the guilty and against the earth that sustains them, but the crystalline note of hope is not lacking. The Proto-gospel (Gen 3:15) announces the good news of a better future, God did not abandon the sinner to his misery.
Noah built the ark because God instilled hope in his heart. The race was not annihilated because God revealed a vision of a better future. Abraham's call to leave his land and family was founded on hope. "In you will all the families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12: 3). Four hundred years of slavery in Egypt could not completely erase that flame of hope. God confirmed with a strong arm his promise of freedom and independence under the command of the sovereign Lord.
The prophets were sent with messages of judgment and condemnation. But in the midst of struggles, invasions, apostasy and spiritual adultery, the spokesmen of God did not stop describing pictures of victory and salvation in the future horizons. Isaiah wrote 200 years before the Exile: "Comfort, comfort, my people, say to your God ... the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all the flesh will see ... Behold, the Lord God will come with power and His arm shall rule: behold, his reward is with him, and before him is his reward "(40: 1-10). It was not for Israel to fall into the deep pit of depression and despair, because God promises to show his special loving care again.
Hope in the Bible is like that. In the midst of the terrible afflictions and sufferings caused by the rebellion and sin of his people, God promises a radical change that would gladden the most desperate heart. Thus pessimism is annulled in the promises of God's blessings when discipline has reached its desired effect.
Paul goes even further. Declare that the faith and love of the Colossians existed "because of the hope that is preserved in heaven" (1: 5). In the Old Testament hope for the restoration of the Chosen People. In the New Testament, believing in God's promise of the provision of eternal life in the glorious presence of God produces faith in the Lord Jesus and brotherly love. "In hope (or" by "), we were saved" (Rm 8:24), suggests that faith is generated by hope in the promises of God.
We must notice two senses in this word. First, the one we communicate when we say, "I hope this remedy does me good," or "I hope Roberto comes home before midnight." That is, we have some confidence that an event may possibly materialize. We want it to happen, but we lack certainty.
Hope "alive" is not like that. It communicates the most complete security, since it is accompanied by God's guarantee. We await the "blessed hope" of the coming of Christ, not with doubts, but with all certainty. If we keep firm the hope that we have gained from the beginning, there should be no doubt about genuine conversion (Hebrews 3:14). Insecurity arises precisely at the moment when that trust is shaken. When the certainty about the future that the Scriptures call "eternal life" diminishes, the light of hope is extinguished.
If we were already justified by faith and we also experience peace with God, enter directly through the door opened by faith to sign us in grace. All this, Paul assures us, provides us with exultation in the hope of the glory to come (Rm 5: 1,2). It means that the security and peace that the grace of God produces through the total and continuous forgiveness of God (justification), also maintains the joy that anticipates the future manifestation of the glory of God.
Neither the tribulation that God commands us to produce perseverance and develop the character of Christ ("experience") must shake Christian hope. On the contrary, those who, like Paul, suffer the most affliction, are those who have more hope (Rm 5: 3,4). Despair and pessimism recede before the celestial brightness of the future promised by God. This hope, says Paul, does not confuse, because it is linked to the love that the Holy Spirit pours into the hearts of those who place their trust fully in the faithfulness of God (Rom 5: 5).
In conclusion, dear friends, hope needs biblical people firmly rooted in the promises of God. The grace that the Lord has thrown upon us sinners, paying the high price of our guilt, is the grace that assures us that we have full rights to occupy our place in the Father's house (Jn 14: 1).