My Mom always said she wanted to be buried with a fork in her hand, because at every church pot luck, someone would say, “Keep your fork, the best is yet to come.”

We often talk about Christian hope, but we have trouble defining it.

In common use, “hope” is either as an emotion— “I feel hopeful” or an uncertainty—“I hope this will happen.”

But in Scripture and through the gospel and the possibility of a relationship with God made right, not based on our own merit but completely provided by the substitutionary death of Christ—our hope, was not just an emotion nor was it uncertain.

Biblical hope is a certain anticipation.
Not just simply belief in a truth, but an inspiring expectation, that the best is truly yet to come.

A young lady my mother had been mentoring mentioned to Mary Anne that she had not seen Christians grieve before.

So we have desired to grief with hope.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, we are instructed that, in light of the reality of resurrection and the coming of the Lord, “that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”

But we do grieve.
Grief hurts. There is a sense of pain from the loss.
Grief is numbing.
Grief brings a deep sadness.

Grief comes in waves, and they are cyclical. You don’t just go through them once.
Grief is not something you “just get over”—quickly.

Biblical hope is not a wish—“I hope so”
Biblical hope is not just an emotion—“I feel hopeful” or “I don’t feel hopeful”
Biblical hope is not just the reality of information—“I know there is a heaven”

Biblical hope has a certain focus—a focus not just on truth, but the One, Jesus Christ, who declared the truth.
Biblical hope has an excitement or anticipation to it—it looks to the future and therefore impacts the present.

Biblical hope is a certain anticipation

Biblical hope enables us to focus on the certainty of God’s word, the Person and work of Jesus Christ, including taking our place on the cross—freeing us from the guilt of sin and giving us His righteousness.

Biblical hope enables us to anticipate without fear the joyous, glorious reunion with Jesus Christ in the presence of God the Father.

Biblical hope does not remove present pain and difficulty—it provides perspective for pain and difficulty.

Biblical hope does not just provide an emotional relief—it provides a settled deep abiding peace even in the face of the uncertainty of life, when the tears come or when the hurt rises.

Biblical hope…
Motivates our daily walk
Inspires our service
Comforts our grief
Assures our doubts
Energizes our faith
Directs our perspective

Grief with hope is not a plastic, emotionless denial of pain.

Grief with hope is not fatalistic but believes in an all wise, caring, personal, good God.

Grief with hope should not be a solo role; it believes not just the truth of eternal life or the resurrection but the true nature of the Body of Christ.

Grief with hope is a moment by moment walk of faith that regularly must refocus on the certain anticipation of meeting Jesus.

Grief with hope is the certain expectation that the impact of the curse of sin has been defeated by Christ and that death truly has been swallowed up in the victory of Christ and that death truly has a limited sting.

My prayer is to grieve with hope.
To walk through, not stay in, the dark shadow of the valley of death.
To have a stronger more seasoned faith.
To be able to better comfort others who grieve.
To give a faithful testimony through word and deeds, to the certain anticipation of meeting Jesus face to face, in His full glory—fully forgive, fully transformed, fully alive.

Stephen C. Kilgore

March 2015