Hope Is What Binds Us Together
By Diane Klettke, Contributing Writer
There are many noble causes and pursuits that bind people together in a common purpose and hope.
There are many noble causes and pursuits that bind people together in a common purpose and hope.
- Martin Luther King had a dream. His dream impassioned and engaged others in a hope for a better future free of ugly prejudices.
- Nelson Mandela spent 27 years of his adult life in prison in the course of his fight against apartheid in South Africa.
While I could pull up many other names of people who have inspired others with hope in their fight against evil and injustice, and who have significantly impacted the world that we live in, there is only person whose perfect life completely conquered evil, changing forever the lives of all those who would follow him. He is the reason for the hope that we have. That man’s name is Jesus.
And the hope that we have is true and unchangeable. It cannot be taken from us, we do not have to work to earn it, we do not even have to guess at it. Our eternal place in God’s kingdom is completely centered around what Jesus has already accomplished on our behalf. All we have to do is to accept it.
Centuries of believers of all ages, languages, cultures, economic groups, and more have been united in a common hope that binds us all together.
This hope has a rock solid core which ensures that no matter how many times we are led astray from the unity of this common bond by our own selfish desires and worldly agendas, we come back to this:
“Christ in you – the Hope of Glory.” Col 1:27
It is the Spirit of Christ that amazingly, mysteriously, and lovingly indwells the deepest inner reaches of God’s children, which gives us hope that what God has promised us is and will be ours.
The apostle Paul admonished the Ephesian church (and us too) that we must be humble, gentle, and patient with each other because of love – because in our unity, the indwelling Spirit of God really shines! Where there is no love – there is no God of love. Where there is no peace – there is no God of peace. We cannot be bound together by anything but the presence of God in us. Nothing else is able to bring into unity a diverse group of people from all cultures and nations and ages. Nothing else is more powerful! Paul reminds us that:
“There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of ALL, who is over all, in all, and living through all.” Eph.4:4-6
I feel blessed that in my lifetime I have seen denominational walls come down in favor of unity of worship of the Living God. As I have traveled to several different countries I have encountered wonderful people of different “denominations” and religious (or non-religious) backgrounds, who have inspired my faith. I can say with confidence that I am united with them in a common hope.
In these days God looks for those who will worship him in Spirit and in Truth. This is the message of the New Testament – that all the dividing walls have been broken down through Jesus Christ, who has cleansed us from sin and united us in purpose and love through the Spirit. Therefore, we are one people (church), united in one hope, in one God! Amazing Hope! Amazing Grace!
Thank you to Diane Klettke for contributing this article to the #RealHope series.
Diane writes for her blog, In Light of This
She is also a contributing writer at Sweet Jesus Ministries.
This article is part of the #RealHope blog series and Hope Is Holiday Devotional Study.
For information regarding our current and future studies, visit our Bible study page.
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