Too many times I confuse hope with optimism. If you know me well, you know that I am certainly not an optimist. I prefer to consider myself a realist, but I hear that other pessimists prefer the same term. (If you know Arthur well at all, you have also figured out that this is definitely not him writing this post.)
But what is hope? Much like faith, hope is only as valuable as the object or person in which you place your hope. Hebrews 6:13-20 talks about hope and the certainty of God's promise to Abraham. "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath" (6:17). He goes on to say, "God did this so that . . . we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf" (6:17-20a).
There's a lot you can say about Hebrews chapter 6. But what does it say about hope? Our hope is based in Jesus our high priest. It is based on God himself, on his promise, on his oath, on his trustworthiness. We aren't supposed to just try to think positively, to "hope for the best." We flee to take hold of the hope offered to us! Christ is our only hope! And it isn't just a warm feeling on a sunny day that life is going to start looking up again. It's an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It's what keeps us grounded during the toughest storm.
I don't claim to understand exactly what hope is, especially as a pessimist (er . . . I mean realist). But I know that the hope we find in Christ is a hope worth sharing. I know that a life without the hope of the gospel is a life without an anchor for the soul. And I know there are a lot of people in Japan searching for hope right now.
Hebrews 7 sums it up well: "The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God" (7:18-19).
Jesus, you are our hope, for it is through you that we draw near to God. You are hope for Japan.