Hope - Part One: Something To Live For

We all need hope.

We need something to live for.

We need a reason to live.

We need meaning to our lives.

We need purpose for our lives.

Where do we find…

…hope

…something to live for

…a reason to live

…meaning to our lives

…purpose for our lives?

Peter writes about hope in 1 Peter 1:3.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

A living hope is:

-something to live for, a reason to live, meaning to our lives, and purpose for our lives.

Our living hope comes from the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Think about this…Jesus rose from the dead.

Jesus literally died on the cross.

He was placed in a tomb.

Then he really rose from the dead.

Peter was an eyewitness of his resurrection (Acts 2:32; 3:15;, 4:8-13; 10:39-41; 2 Peter 1:16).

Our living hope is in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

Let’s look a little more into 1 Peter 1:3.

Peter writes about a new birth.

For there to be a new birth, there must first be an old birth.

The old birth is the day we were born physically.

The old birth ends in death.

Everybody dies…there are no exceptions.

In between our birth and death, we search for a reason to live, meaning to our lives, and purpose for our lives.

We search in people, possessions, pleasures, pursuits, parties, projects, and places.

And no matter where the search leads us, we sill die.

That’s the old birth.

God knows the condition of the old birth - the continual search for something to live for, and the eventual death of us all.

God in his mercy, kindness, and compassion did something about it.

Into this condition, God stepped out of heaven and onto earth in the person of Jesus.

Jesus is fully God and fully human (Hebrews 1-2).

He took upon himself our sins (sin is what produced death - Romans 5:12-21).

He died our death.

Then he rose from the dead.

His resurrection can be our resurrection.

Through faith in Jesus, we experience a new birth…a spiritual birth.

Our spiritual birth is that our lives are now connected to the God who loves us and created us to know him.

This is our living hope.

When we place our faith in Jesus, we have a living hope.

We have…

…something to live for

…a reason to live

…meaning to our lives

…purpose for our lives.

We wake up each day, even though there will be many difficult days, with hope in our hearts.

Jesus spoke the following words (John 10:10), “I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly.”

Jesus came to this earth so that you could have an abundant life…a reason to live…a life with meaning…a life with purpose.

He came so that you would have hope: something to live for.

If you have never placed your faith in Jesus or are not sure you have, today you can place your faith in him.

Below is a simple prayer to express your faith.

God, thank you so much for your mercy, compassion, and kindness. I believe Jesus came to earth and took upon himself my sins. I believe Jesus died my death on the cross. I believe he rose from the dead. Today, I place my faith in Jesus. I believe I now have a new birth…a spiritual birth. I admit I do not understand everything about you God…about the new birth…about spiritual life. But I do believe I am now spiritually connected to you and I have eternal life with you. I now have something to live for…a reason to live…meaning to my life, and purpose for my life.

If you placed your faith in Jesus today, I would love to know. On the CONTACT page, you can send me a message letting me know.

To learn more about living a life with meaning and purpose: CLICK HERE

To Read Part Two of Hope, Something To Look Forward To: CLICK HERE