There is an old hymn with these lyrics: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.” The hope we as Christians have in Jesus is not the same kind of hope the world brings. The world’s hope is wishful thinking and is based on the merits of Man, whereas the hope we have in Jesus is based solely on Him and His righteousness. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:27, “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Jesus is literally our hope for eternal life in Heaven. Jesus is called “our hope” in 1 Timothy 1:1, and Jesus said of Himself in John 14:6 that He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” and that no one can come to the Father except through Him. Titus 2:13 says, “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Chris.” And Titus 3:7 says, “that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” We have such wonderful and confident expectations in Jesus! We have the certainty of His return and the certainty of spending eternity with Him. The writer of Hebrews expresses this hope as the “anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:19). Another great passage about Jesus coming for us so that we can live in Heaven with Him is John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Isn’t it wonderful how Jesus seeks to ease troubled hearts and gives encouragement to persevere? He is not trying to tickle our ears here. These words are a strong foundation on which to build one’s life.
Hebrews 10:23 declares that we can completely trust in the hope Christ brings, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Now that we know we have this hope and can trust it fully, what do we do with this confidence? How do we honor the One who gives and is this hope? By pursuing a righteous life; by pursuing Christlikeness. “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).
