Walking with the Wise #84: Beyond This World

“When the wicked dies, his hope will perish,

and the expectation of wealth perishes too.”
—Proverbs 11:7

Every person hopes in something. The only question is: What is the object of that hope? For the wicked, hopes are focused in this life—the accumulation of wealth, power, success, fame, etc. But the hope of a Christian is the life beyond this one—in God’s kingdom—inaugurated in Christ with the fullness of that kingdom still to come. As Jesus said,  

“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But My kingdom is not from the world"—John 18:36.

Our hope is in Christ’s coming kingdom, not in this life. In this life we will experience all kinds of trials and tribulations, but in the kingdom that is to come we will experience the joy for which we were made—knowing and experiencing Christ forever. Paul captured the futility and foolishness of hope in this world when he wrote, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied”—1 Corinthians 15:19.

For the wicked person, or unbeliever, there is hope only in what can be seen and measured in this world—money, fame, power, etc. But the wicked forget that man is an eternal being, and though are bodies will die, our souls will live on. Our plane of existence will be much different. Followers of Christ will be glorified, able to see Jesus as He is, for we shall be like Him (1 John 3:2) and partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

The hope of the wicked dies with him, but the hope of the righteous will be realized. This life is the warm-up act, much like musicians tuning their instruments for the main performance. For the Christian, the best is yet to come.

Where is your hope? Is your hope in the things of this world? What are you hoping in? Money? Success? Power? Pleasure? Are you hoping in yourself and in your own abilities? Any hope that is not in Christ will fail. May our hope be in Christ and in Him alone, and

“…may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word”—2 Thessalonians 2:16-17.

Amen.