Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:00 — 3.7MB)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More
I hope my team wins. I hope I get the job. I hope the sun shines on Saturday. Have you ever said something like that? We toss that word hope around a lot. How many times have you said these three words, “I hope so.” Did you know that hope describes love? But maybe not the hope we commonly think about.
I Corinthians 13:7 says that love “always hopes.” This may be lost on English speakers. To us, hope is a feeling that something good might happen. In fact, dictionary.com defines the word as a feeling. Sometimes the feeling is just the earnest desire for something good to happen. You know, like buying a lottery ticket and hoping you win. You want it, but are not sure it will happen.
But the word translated hope speaks of a confident expectation something will happen, not just wanting it to happen. For example, many of us expect a paycheck to hit our bank account. We certainly want it. But we are also confident because we put in the hours at our job. We expect the money to arrive on payday. That confident expectation is the true meaning of hope.
So how does this describe love? If we love others, we will confidently expect the best from them and for them. Sounds optimistic doesn’t it? It should. We’ll have a hard time loving others if we are filled with pessimism. Love always hopes.
How to leave a review: https://www.sparkingfaith.com/rate-and-review/
Visit Elmer Fuller’s author website at: https://www.elmerfuller.com/
Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.