Hope Is Alive

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope.   –  1 Peter 1:3

In the early days of the church, the apostles had been conducting “many signs and wonders” in the name of Jesus. They had even begun preaching in Solomon’s Portico, a colonnaded walkway on the eastern side of the Temple’s Outer Court. This frustrated the Jewish leaders, who were jealous of the attention the Christ-followers were getting, and so they had them arrested and put in prison. They were not there long, for an angel opened the prison doors and released the apostles, who promptly returned to the Temple area to preach. The Sanhedrin called an emergency meeting, arresting the apostles again and bringing them in for questioning.  

There was a leading authority in the Jewish Sanhedrin, a Pharisee, whose name was Gamaliel. He was a great teacher with a great reputation; it was he who had instructed Paul in all the laws of the Jews (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel cautioned the Sanhedrin when it came to these preachers of Jesus, noting that the following of another man who thought he was “somebody” and had around 400 followers had come to nothing. He said if the apostles were just another group of false prophets they would fail (Acts 5:33-39). Gamaliel had the awareness not to challenge a movement that could be “of God,“ though he did not understand the power of the resurrection of Jesus and the great mercy and power of God for humans to become born again and receive a new and living hope. The very principle of such a new life kept the apostles moving forward, changing the world with their message. 

The living hope the Apostle Peter writes of in today’s verse is intended to be a vital and dynamic part of your life. It is written in the present tense and rises above circumstances. Living hope is possible because there is a living Lord. Pastor and author Gene Getz says that, in addition to being invigorated with that living hope now, you also have a “steadfast sense of security and stability” for God has given you eternal life. Theologian Charles Spurgeon reminds you that it is called a living hope “because it is imperishable. Other hopes fade like withering flowers… The only imperishable hope is that which climbs above the stars and fixes itself upon the name of God and the person of Jesus Christ.” 

Theologian Dr. Lawrence Richards wrote, “No one who learns to hope in a biblical way will ever be overcome by disappointment, but will be filled with patience, encouragement, and enthusiasm.” Pray that the hoped-for accomplishments of a new government administration settle within the will of God for America. Pray for the public officials who are Christians who have been called to be part of these changes.