THE Hope

In the mid-1990s, Michael Jordan retired from the National Basketball Association (NBA) to play baseball.

Before the end of the 1994 baseball season, when pro baseball went on strike, Jordan started hanging around the Chicago Bulls practice facility and participating in some practices. This fed a firestorm of speculation that Jordan was considering returning to the NBA. As he kept practicing with the Bulls, the speculation increased and even turned into a hope that he would return. When he sent his press release “I’m Back” stating an official return to pro basketball, there was almost a collective sigh of relief that he returned.

In his first epistle, Peter tried to encourage displaced Christians by pointing to the hope we have in Christ’s resurrection. But it’s not just a hope, is it? It is a living hope. This kind of hope is not just a strong wish that something will happen, like in the Michael Jordan story.

Hope in Jesus is a faith that has confidence. We have confidence that God will do what He says because Jesus rose from the dead, as He said He would. Also, it is a living hope. It is alive. It moves and grows. It is not stagnant or still. For the Christian, hope is faith in the Lord that helps us move forward confidently in Him.

As a follower of Christ, you can serve the Lord and live a life filled with the hope supplied by God through His Son Jesus. Thanks to the work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection, we know that we can trust the Lord and walk in that trust.

If Michael Jordan’s NBA return can bring a sigh of relief, think of the excitement when we finally meet our Savior and Lord.