Hope - Part 2

We have two beautiful rose bushes at our house, one near the front porch and one by the road under the mailbox. For the past few months the deep red bush has looked like this - dormant, dry and lifeless. The cold winter shriveled it up and took away all its color and growth.

But I saw it in the fall. It was full of dark, deep crimson blooms. The highlight of running errands was being able to see those precious blossoms when I arrived back home.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

The resurrection of Jesus is the very foundation of our entire faith and hope. That's what makes it a living hope - it's the proof that what He said during His life was true, all of it.

I have hope that in the next few days my rose bush will break out in red blooms again because there is already a new bud waiting to open. But even more precious than that, the hope I've placed in Jesus Christ has living power.

The active, powerful, beautiful hope in Christ tells our hearts that this world is not our home, salvation is the answer to all our earthly problems and God's path is the perfect one to travel down. What a special alternative to antidepressants and therapy sessions!

The living hope of Christ revives our hearts, just as the spring will regenerate my rose bush. And our hope is set on the soon-returning King Who will renew us from our physical bodies and give us eternal life with Him. I may be waiting on my roses for temporal beauty, but soon we will be with the Lily of the Valley for all eternity. What a hope indeed!

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