Hoping against hope we place our trust in earthly realities. Where does God fit into that picture (Colossians 1:5) with a story about Alexander the Great.

SCRIPTURE: Colossians 1:5 (TM)

The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.

STORY:

As Alexander the Great was setting out on his conquest of Asia, he inquired into the finances of his followers. To ensure that they would not be troubled over the welfare of their dependents during their absence, he distributed crown estates and revenues among them. When he had thus disposed of nearly all the royal resources, his friend General Perdiccas asked Alexander what he had reserved for himself. "Hope," answered the king.

"In that case," said Perdiccas, "we who share in your labors will also take part in your hopes." He then refused the estate allotted to him, and several other of the king's friends did the same. 

OBSERVATION:

Hope is interesting. Hope is longed for. Hope is what should be “floating our boat”.  And yet, it seems for most individuals just beyond our reach.

Oh, we speak about hope often, but do we really believe in it? We embrace it as a part of our faith journey, but are we really willing to allow it to take center stage? Do we really hope?

A person sees a doctor. They hope that a hospital stay and surgery are not in their future. A couple invests their savings in a money market account hoping that they won’t lose. Two young people stand before the altar of a church and promise to love each other until death parts them … they hope. Children, dressed in their new outfits, go off for the first day of the new school year … they hope that this year will be different while their parents hope that they will be the best student their child can be. A persons walks into his or her new employer’s business hoping that this job will last longer than the last one did. A couple looks at the mortgage payment book hoping that the economy will turn around and that they won’t lose their home.

Hope springs eternal. Without hope life would meaningless. Without hope life becomes only one long struggle. Alexander the Great reserved hope for the future for himself … that he would be successful as he set out to take Asia, but was his hope lasting? Where is it today?

Where is ours? The only hope that has any meaning is that which is placed in God through Jesus Christ. Oh, we can place hope on our jobs, marriage, children, grandchildren, the economy, our victories, our health, our income, our health, or a hundred and one other things … but does that hope last? Not really. God and God alone is our hope!

PRAYER:

May we keep our hope in you, Eternal God … and may we never lose sight of that reality.