We were blessed by a visit with dear Christian friends this week. Between us, we have 10 children. The kids spent many happy hours playing, while we enjoyed hours of thought-provoking conversation. During one such conversation, the Lord used our friends to shed light on a vital topic.
We have had several talks with our children lately, regarding their assurance of salvation. They have a lot of knowledge about the Lord, and they believe what the Bible teaches about Jesus and salvation. They trust that He died to pay for their sins and that He rose from the dead. The idea of faith, however, has been very intangible for them.
It is hard for them to judge whether they have a strong enough faith. They believe they would be willing to undergo persecution for Christ, but it is hard for them to know for sure. They don’t know how to have both faith and questions at the same time.
They know the consequences of falling away, and they are afraid, because they do not know the future. In short, they have faith in God but not in themselves.
Don’t we all feel that way sometimes?
Our friends reminded us that faith cannot be separated from Christian hope, and they encouraged us to talk with our children about hope, as well.
Paul began his letter to Titus with these words:
“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness–a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time…”
As the verse in Titus says, our faith and knowledge rest on the hope of eternal life, which God promised before the beginning of time.
Our children definitely have hope in Christ. They hope to be saved from Hell. They hope to spend eternity with Christ and with each other. They have hope in their hearts that one day, God will wipe every tear from their eye. There will be no more broken things, no more arguments, no more hospital stays and no more pets that die. They have this hope because of Christ!
A Christian understands hope as a certainty. Ours is not the baseball fan’s hope, which thinks, “I hope the Atlanta Braves win tomorrow.” As we read in Hebrews 11: 1, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Our children are growing in their understanding of what it means to have faith as we help them see that their faith is wedded to the hope we have in Christ. We have not yet seen that day when He will return. We haven’t seen the new heavens or the new earth. But we trust that God, who does not lie, has promised that it will come to pass. By faith, we can be certain that we do not hope in vain.
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10: 22-23
We who are unfaithful can draw near to God in full assurance of faith. He has sprinkled our hearts with His own blood to cleanse our guilty conscience! We can cling to the hope we profess, not because we are always faithful, but because He is.
Hallelujah! Come, Lord Jesus.
Molly, You’ve been tagged. See my blog for details.