“If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:19-22)

As a new year begins, people start out with hope, but as the year goes on, the hope fades. We as believers in Jesus Christ, Paul would tell us that the only things which preserves in our thoughts and lives, includes hope. When he looks at life, he sees only three things which endures. He writes, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:11-13)

If this is true, how does our hope endure? It starts with a new view of life which only God can provide. A view which is found through a cross and an empty tomb. It is found because Christ overcame death, which changes how we view our lives. Paul says, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:19-22)

This is the heart of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, who came to Jesus alone and a night. Jesus said to Nicodemus that man needed a new viewpoint which came from a new life found as one is not only born of flesh but also born of the Spirit. Jesus said, “You must be born again.” (John 3:7) Nicodemus asked how can one be born again? Jesus would answer, “the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” (John 3:14-15) This was a refence to how Jesus would die. He would die upon a cross. Jesus would also be raised to life after the resurrection. All because of God’s love, hope comes from the perspective of Jesus and what He has done. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17)

It is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, where we can now view hope. It is this hope which changes how we view life and how we live life. Paul would say to the church at Rome, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” It is from the view of Jesus Christ, where hope gives us peace and joy. These come because hope also joins with God’s love and fills us with the promise which the resurrection provides a view of eternity with God.

Paul would view hope and say, “’Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57) John would add as he looks at God’s revelation of eternity, “Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.” (Revelation 22:7) This is where we find our view of hope.

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block