Is hope just something you used to have a long time ago? Come talk to a mentor.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
“There is nothing mysterious about Jesus.” That’s what most people would say. Even Christians don’t often think of Jesus as a mysterious guy. But should we? Is there anything mysterious about Him? Colossians says that God’s people are supposed to reveal the mystery, but what is the mystery? (Col 1:24-27)
As we see in verse 27, the mystery is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Every single word in that sentence has astronomical implications.
Christ – God above all creation, supreme over everything
In – inside, within, living in the midst of
You – you and me and anyone else who wants Him
The – not “a” as in one of many, but “the” one and only
Hope – confident expectation
Of – where does hope come from?
Glory – in the presence of God
Again: “The Spirit of Jesus lives in us and is our hope of glory” There is an incredible process at work here. All the fullness of God dwells in the person of Christ who now lives in us through his Holy Spirit.
An enormous sea of glory is funneled into our little teacup lives! This glory comes from God the Father to His son Jesus Christ and from Jesus to us through the Holy Spirit. That’s a whole lot crammed into a little bit. John 15:9 says, “as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” See the flow?
We not only receive this hope, we are the resource for it in the world. So when pastors and evangelists encourage us saying, “You carry hope, now give it to others,” this is not to burden us. Rather, this should be a compulsive act.
Love fills us up and spills over our edges, gushing onto other people. We become activated in expressing hope when we simply unstop whatever is in the way of filling us up. Think about it. An ocean does not need any help filling a teacup just as a lion does not need you to defend it. Our job is to simply unclog the funnel so that glory can flow down into us and consequently spill out onto others.
How do we unclog the funnel? To put it simply, it’s a daily trust in God – a dying to selfish desires, which might be the longest, bloodiest battle we’ll ever fight.
The mystery has been revealed: Christ lives in us. My prayer for us today is Romans 15:13. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Take a minute and pray that for yourself right now.
Question: What gets in the way of God’s love flowing through you?
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