HOPE: A BOLD CHOICE
(Wednesday, December 18)
“And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ – as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the boldness (παρρησίαν) and the boast (καύχημα) of the hope firm to the end.” (Hebr 3:5-6)
There is a lot to unpack here, but I’ll just say this: We are Christ’s “house,” my friends, and He lives in us, if we boldly and even boastfully, — I would say, audaciously, hold fast to hope. To the very end. This doesn’t mean being in denial, when we suffer failures, losses, or some other painful experiences, either by some fault of our own or someone else’s. Hope is proactive: I mean, it takes work. And it’s a daily choice, based on the kind of “house” we choose to be.
If I have felt kicked in the gut by some experience, let me place my pain where it belongs, in the hands of One Who can handle it, in my house. I can dare to welcome Him in this season, the One Who was born in an unseemly cave, however unseemly my house may be. I need not descend into self-isolation and victimhood, when I can have a bit of faith and even emanate an audacious hope, as I invite Him in. Lord, enlighten us with Your hope this Nativity Fast; and come and abide in us, as we dare to hope You will.
