Open in New Tab Here

Without Hope and Without Faith

Heb. 11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Rom. 8:24
…Now hope that is seen is not hope…

I Cor. 13:13
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The Christian walk begins in faith.  Faith is not intrinsic to us, but it is a gift of God to His elect.  Faith begets hope and love.  These three enable the believer’s life.  They are a pillow in the long night.  They are an anchor in uncertainty.  They are a cool, clear drink of water in the heat of persecution. They bind us to each other and to Christ in ways that make us unbreakable under the onslaughts of our enemies.

Someday The Lord will send an angel to collect us (Mark 13:27).  He will not have His saints miss the Great Day of His appearing.  That will be a BIG thing!  Our Savior will assure that none of His redeemed will miss it.  None will be late.  If we still remain in this life, the angels will not on that account overlook us, but will search the “four winds” of the globe for us.  If we have died in Christ, then the angels will search the entirety of the heavens until we are all found and accounted.  All that The Father had before time given to the Son are tallied.  None will have been lost!  Perhaps the messengers will find some Bereans sitting at the edge of Saturn’s rings with their blessed feet dangling over the measureless expanses of our Father’s creation.  However and wherever found, we will all be collected to view and participate in this great event. We will all arrive at the same time.  Those who have gone before will not precede those who have remained.  We will all be special guests and witnesses to our Lord’s return.  We shall see Him in His glory (John 17:24)!

Then, with Christ, we will judge a world that found no place for Him and held no love for us. We will, with our Savior, judge the world!  It is an ending.  It is a new beginning. The day is glorious!

All of these saints in attendance will have died in faith and hope, but as they stand amid a victory won by another, they are then without either. Both of these precious gifts will have been dissolved and resolved into sight.  Every promise has been kept.  Every loss has been requited.  Every wound has been healed. Every hope has been fulfilled.  There is no further need for either.  All that remains then, is love!

George Moore
Elder Emeritus