Hope.

It’s one of the strongest human emotions. It compels us to keep going, even when we’re tired. It lifts us up when we’ve been in despair. And it fuels our actions when suffering abounds.

We all long for hope. All of us, on all continents, in all types of situations. We all long for hope. Because without hope, we cave in our ourselves. Depression rules the day and life crumbles before us.

The good news – no, the great news – for those of us who follow Christ is that our hope is not fleeting, temporal, or earthly. Our hope is other-worldly, making it eternal, supreme, and transcendent. The reason for this: our hope is not a euphoric idea, but a person. Jesus is our hope.

In 1 Timothy 1:1, Paul writes of “Christ Jesus our hope.” He’s all we have, and He’s all we need. Our eternity hinges on Him, and so does today.

When despair starts to creep in, it could be that we’ve lost sight of hope. It could be that we’ve lost sight of The Hope. It could be that the pressures and cares of this world have crowded our vision, distracting us from our source of hope.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (ESV) reflects this idea:

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Scripture invites us to look not at our issues, but at Jesus. He Himself is our hope.

There’s a reason our church is called Hope Church. We long to be a beacon of hope, welcoming in the tired and broken and weary, pointing everyone to The Hope. But that’s not all. We long to then turn our landing place into a launching pad, mobilizing all of us into agents of hope.

Agents of hope. Agents of Hope. That’s what it’s all about.