Do You HOPE?

But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.

1Peter 3:15

 

I had been teaching a series of Bible Lessons and one of the the people in the class came to me afterwards and said, "You're SUCH an optimist!"  I thought about that for a while, and at the next session, asked the group how they would define an Optimist.  

 

Here are a few of the answers:

     1.  "One who has lost all sense of reality."

     2.  "A person who sees the world through rose colored glasses."

     3.  "Delusional Idiot"

     4.  "Someone with an unrealistic view of the world."

     5.  "The person who clings to hope in spite of what they see around them."

 

 

Look at what Peter wrote: "Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the HOPE you possess."  

 

Giving up is easy.  Rolling over and getting trampled is simple.  It takes no effort to swim with the current.  It's not difficult to bury one's head in the sand and become part of the "EVERYTHING IS AWFUL" mentality that is so prevalent.

 

How does Peter expect us to have a hope worth giving an answer for?  "Set Jesus apart as Lord in your hearts!"  Yes!  When our hearts are lifted by Christ, we begin to see things differently because we get to see that God truly does have a plan, and Romans 8:28 really is true!  

 

Being an optimist takes EFFORT!  It means you don't take things at face value, because you learn to see beyond the face value to the true worth.  It's not simply slapping on a dopey grin and telling everyone that "All is well."  Being an optimist is a conscious decision!  Usually many times a day and sometimes every moment of every day.  But Scripture tells us that we are to be ready to give an answer for the HOPE we possess, so that means we have to possess Hope in order to give an answer for it.  

 

Do you have Hope?  Have you sought it?  Have you asked God for it?