Advent- This Year Will Be Different, Part 4
Recap
In 1998 the film Hope Floats was debuted starring Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr. The story of an unassuming housewife who hears of her husband's infidelity on national television. In the shadow of this tragic event, she and her young daughter move back home to her mother's house in the small town she grew up in. If you have seen the movie, then the title, "Hope Floats" is understandable but very different than what we find in scripture.
Hebrews 6:16-20 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 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. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
"It is impossible for God to lie," this becomes the foundation upon what follows, that hope is as an anchor for our souls. So, hope does not float but is something that sinks into the deep regions of our most inner being. Why would the writer of Hebrews (unknown to us) describe hope as an anchor?
I believe for two reasons.
One, the most obvious, and that is the primary use of an anchor, to prevent a vessel from moving from where it is moored. Hope anchors us to the only thing that is not fluid in this life, and that is Christ. When people and circumstances change, God does not, but there is something else that we might overlook.
Second, the reason that an anchor sinks to the bottom of the ocean is because of its weight. Mark, you are going to have to do better than that to make this worth my time in reading. The weight and strength of the anchor is the point because it is forged under pressure and heat. Hope is a weighty anchor in our lives because it is forged in the crucible of our lives. Hope is not forged when life is going just as planned. Hope is forged when life is shifting with the winds of circumstance. Hope drops deep within our being because it is founded on the promise that "it is impossible for God to lie." So even when things are going awry, we know that He is still with us and for us.
Hope that floats is built on human effort or left to how we might feel at that moment. Hope that floats lacks depth. Depth or weight is only achieved through trusting and believing that God is not done with you.
The hope that Jesus brings during the advent season is weighty and has great depth because He stepped down from heaven into the fray of our lives. Jesus dawned humanity in every sense of the word; He feels everything that we will feel in a lifetime. The hope that Christ brings on advent does not float but sinks deep into our souls and becomes life and light.
This year will be different because I choose to find my hope in Christ.
Scripture
Luke 2:1-21
Matthew 16:13-16
Isaiah 11:1-16
Let's keep the conversation going. Use the following questions to discuss with your family, friends, or Connection Group.
1. Take a moment and close out all distractions in you day and ask yourself this all important question. Where does your ultimate hope lie?
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