Hope Waits {From the Archives}

Hope, like perseverance, is a virtue for the "not yet" waiting time of life in this groaning creation. Hope waits, the father watching at the window for the prodigal to appear, the prophet Daniel in exile counting the years until 70 and the return to the land, the sisters in Bethany waiting for Jesus to come and help their brother. Hope waits for the promises of God to catch up with our desires, or so it seems.

John Calvin articulates the forward-leaning character of hope:

"Hope is nothing else than the expectation of those things which faith has believed to have been truly promised by God. 

Thus, faith believes God to be true, hope awaits the time when His truth shall be manifested; 

faith believes that He is our Father, hope anticipates that He will ever show Himself to be a Father toward us;

faith believes that eternal life has been given to us, hope anticipates that it will some time be revealed;

faith is the foundation upon which hope rests, hope nourishes and sustains faith….

hope strengthens faith, that it may not waver in God’s promises or begin to doubt concerning their truth."

     ~John Calvin, courtesy of Graced Again, emphasis mine

As beautiful as that is, who can weave the groaning, waiting perseverance of the now and the hope of the not yet better than the apostle Paul?

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it (Romans 8:18-25, NASB).

Hope waits, anticipates, groans, and ultimately longs until Christ returns to fulfill fully the promises and kingdom of the triune God. Come soon, Lord Jesus!