Lesson Three
THREE THINGS YOU MUST HAVE

Chapter 2: Hope

By the word "hope" in this chapter we mean:
(1) The hope toward the realization of the truths of the Bible;
(2) The hope toward God's grace and mercy and His plan for our lives;
(3) The waiting attitude with assurance and faith for the good that will be ours after the sufferings and trials of life.

This hope is the witness and expression of our faith in the midst of a world that not only fails to understand our faith, but hates it. The Christian hope is the hope of glory.

Then what do we hope for?
First, we hope for God's will to be done in our lives. By the word "will" is meant "plan," "desire," "design," "pleasure." We have already seen that God created man with a definite purpose. And God has a special purpose for His own childrenÛyou included.

The history of the human race, the law of the universe, the growth of lifeÛall this is purposed and controlled by the will of God. Even a tiny sparrow that flies in the air cannot fall without God's knowing it (Matthew 10:29).

Your coming into this world, your growth, sufferings and joys, trials and happiness, failures and successes, and even deathÛin all these God has His purpose. His will must be done in our lives as well as in our deaths. His will is complete, absolute and good. It is the highest and noblest of all hopes when you hope for God's will in your life.

Second, we hope in God's righteousness and justice. As we have already studied, God is not partial and cannot or does not overlook evil and lawlessness. In this just judgment of God we place our hope.

Of course, God's justice sometimes brings us sufferings and bewilderment. Doubts and even resentment can be caused by it. But this does not mean that God is not just. As we live according to His Word; we must face frequent sufferings, endure constant misunderstandings of our friends and family, bear our cross.

But we do not become disappointed or hopeless by these trialsÛnot because we can endure or are strong enough to bear it by ourselves, but because we hope in God's justice and righteousness.

Third, we hope in God's love. If we were to hope only in the absolute will and impartial justice of GodÛour approach toward God would be as to a stepfatherÛhesitating, fearful. We may accept His will as complete and absolute and His justice as right and impartial, but we would not feel close to Him.

But÷God is love. We must never forget that He loved us so much that He was willing to sacrifice His own Son that we might be saved and come back to Him. God's love is pure. It has no conditions, nor are there any strings attached.