Has a hope been disappointed?
Is an expectation unmet?
Rest in Christ’s promise…
No matter the challenge and what things may beset.
Has a hope been frustrated?
Is an anticipation not up to par?
Steady your gaze on Christ…
For in Him is hope’s reservoir.
Has a hope faded?
Is confidence beginning to wane?
Christ is calmly beside you…
And along life’s journey are lessons of hope’s gain.
Has a hope been realized?
Is a taste of desire now known?
Christ is greater still…
For present hope overcomes not hope’s Cornerstone.
I see, but what do you mean by Cornerstone?
How, then, should we understand so-called present hope?
I guess what I mean is I’m seeking a definition.
Is present hope a misplaced ambition?
I perceive the question, and it’s a good one indeed.
The answer in short is that your present hope merely reveals a more potent need.
You see, life brings with it many a great pleasure,
But none can satisfy beyond an earthly measure.
For God put within each of us a deep and longing heart,
In fact, we feel its pinch at the end of the day and even in the morning’s start.
Those intense yearnings that arise where we know not from…
Those met yet unmet desires tell us we’re made for more, a joy yet to come.
But does not that diminish the delightful experiences available each day?
Are you saying my happiness is nothing more than blindness set to betray?
Indeed, more good questions you do rightly propose.
However, my friend, it is not as you suppose.
For those everyday joys in which you really know
Are pointing forward, a greater treasure to bestow.
Happiness, as you aptly mention
brings with it a marker of sorts to refocus our attention.
In a word, happiness is a declaration,
It’s not a fancy trick or cause for frustration.
I see; what you say makes sense and may be explained by a derby car race.
There is true joy in crafting the car, but fuller still is its showcase.
When the car races victoriously down its designated track
A sense of joy arises as its craftsman looks back.
Right, you are to use that illustration.
While the crafting brought joy, it was different from its demonstration.
And so it is with our present hope.
All life’s joys combine in one glorious kaleidoscope.
Each happy moment and delightful exultation
Points forward to the day of Christ’s Consummation.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:19-22
— February 22, 2024