Hope: the ultimate already not yet.

Have you ever hoped for something? If you answered “no” to that question: I want to challenge you. You absolutely have.

Even (and especially) if as a little kid, we all had hopes, and dreams. What did you want to be when you grew up? There’s a lot of hope in that question.

Did you hope your table partner would become your best friend? Were you hopeful that, come 7th grade, that girl or guy across the hall would be crushing on you too? When you graduated high school, were you hopeful that your next season of life would turn out well? That the college you picked or the job you landed or any other number of things you committed to would go well?

I could keep going on, asking you to consider the hopes and dreams you have in your life these days, too. Are you hoping for that job? Marriage? Children? Kid #2? Grandchildren? A peaceful existence?

Are you longing for, on an even more meaningful and deep level, union with God? The hope of heaven? I know I sure am. Especially in this day and age, the hope of heaven is an especially powerful anchor for daily life.

Hope, as Scripture says, is unseen. “Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?” Hope is an anchor for life day-to-day, and, just as importantly, it’s almost like a springboard into our future. It keeps us grounded, and propels as forward. I love how that works. It’s motivating to be present, and, to keep going. It’s an already, and a not yet. A bit like the rest of life, I guess.

The Bible makes what’s juxtaposing about hope even more fascinating too: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). It feels really hard when we don’t get what we want, especially if we’ve been waiting for that thing we so desperately long for for a long time. And, it feels really, really good when we get what we want.

I want to pause here too, and also just unpack this quote above a bit more; the word “longing” in that verse can also be translated “dream,” or way more commonly: “desire.”

Desire. What a powerful word, truly. When we harken back to the origin of the word desire, it comes from the Latin word “desiderare,” and even more so, rooted in the idea of “de-sider” or even more so, “sidus.” Which means - amazingly! - “heavenly body.”

Isn’t that incredible?! Having desires makes us human. And may I dare say: it’s something otherworldly. It’s not even just about being humans here in now. It’s actually about being humans…elsewhere too.

Desiring is about heaven, and longing for something - or somewhere - like that. A longing, a dream, a desire is core to who we are as humans, and, even more poignantly, points us to a place, a union, a relationship, a Being, that we were made for.

Desire reminds us who we really are: immortal beings, heavenly, desiring Someone above ourselves. That’s amazing.

I also love Proverbs 13:12 as I’m just now realizing in the most incredible way, because, it’s core to the biblical narrative. In other words: When our hopes are unfulfilled, it reminds us of the Fall. No tree of life accessible there. But, when our desires are fulfilled, it’s a tree of life. It’s a Revelation 22 kind of moment (think “tree of life”).. Hope deferred makes us sick - it reminds us of the Fall of humanity. Hope fulfilled makes us whole - reminding us of where and who we were made for: God in heaven. Wow.

That’s a next level kind of hope. That’s a next level kind of desire. And, that’s a next level kind of life.

The bookends of the Bible speak to the sickness that tarnishes all of humanity and the fulfillment of all dreams in Heaven. And what holds this entire story together? What’s in the middle of this miraculous narrative? Hope.

And so, let’s stay hopeful today. And, may I challenge us all - myself very much included - to make the things we hope for above this world, beyond this life, and rooted in the life to come. Let’s direct our desires to Heaven, to God seated on His throne, and to His Son, Jesus, the hope of glory!

As it says in Scripture too by Jesus Himself: when we focus on the things of God’s kingdom and His righteousness, everything else we need is given to us. That’s pretty encouraging.

Keep going today, friends. Resurrect your hopes and your dreams. And don’t lose heart. Heaven is coming to Earth, and our longings will be fulfilled one day. Oh, haste the day when Christ returns and makes us whole!