… without hope and without God in the world.
Summary: Paul uses words to describe the stark contrast between life with Jesus Christ and life without Jesus. Life without Jesus is hopeless.
To help us understand why we need Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, Paul paints a picture of where we are without Jesus. In today’s passage, he sums this sorry state of affairs up this way, “… without hope and without God in the world.”
Recently, I was asked to read a book about dealing with hopelessness from a Buddhist perspective. As I understand it, Buddha taught that the ultimate spiritual goal is to become one with … nothing. To escape an eternal hell of being reincarnated in one form or another, always having to endure the “karma” of past lives as a way of explaining the pain in this one, one has to achieve a mental state of disassociation with the world around us. Eventually, if we do everything right, we escape the cycle of endless rebirths and become like a candle flame that is blown out.
As I reflected on this rather depressing philosophy, I discovered some interesting contrasts with our Christian faith.
Buddhism teaches a kind of selflessness, but it is a self-centered kind of selflessness. The goal of meditation seems to focus on the self to the exclusion of all else. This philosophy depends on a kind of self-centeredness. Everything and everyone else is excluded.
Christianity teaches selflessness, too. It is other-centered selflessness. The primary focus of the Christian faith is on God. We know God as Father, we know God as the man named Jesus who walked the earth two thousand years ago, and if we give our lives to Jesus, he, in turn, gives us God in the form of the Holy Spirit.
With Buddhism, pain is to be endured as a kind of test, and meditation is the path to separate us from ourselves. There is no hope of a better world except for what people can make for themselves.
In Christ, we have promises of hope in God’s Word. In Christ, we have a family. Through faith, we have access to God’s own Holy Spirit. Believers in Christ are not alone. Instead of drawing inward away from the world, we are drawn outward to share God’s love.
I mention Buddhism as an example of a path without hope, but there are many others. The love of money, power, and self-gratification, all lead to the same place. People who take this path end up isolated from their Creator. It is a lonely place to be.
Application: Accept the hope that God offers in Jesus Christ.
Food for Thought: How is hope in Jesus different than other types of hope?
How is hope in Jesus different than other types of hope?
The hope that Jesus gives us is absolute truth.
Tim,
Yes! “Truth” carries a weight all its own. “Truth” is substantial, lies are not.
How is hope in Jesus different than other types of hope?
John 4:13-14 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Jesus offers a hope that is eternal, no matter what I do, or what happens in the world around me. If I fail, there is still hope. If I had to live a life that came to a “net zero” in order to “achieve” eternal life, what kind of life would that be?
Chris,
Thanks for pointing us to the John 4 passage. Hope in Jesus is refreshing to the soul! What a beautiful thought and reminder.
Thank you for pointing out the reality about Buddhism. So often the Eastern religions are romanticized as something beautiful in the US. As you eloquently pointed out, their ultimate goal and hope is to become… nothing. Helping others is discouraged as we mess with karma. The results have been tragic.
The hope we have in Christ does not disappoint.
Romans 5: 1 – 5; 1Peter 1: 3 – 12; John 6: 33; John 14: 1 – 3; Titus 2: 11 – 15. And those are just some of the more selfish verses. There is plenty on how we are to spread this hope.
Thank you, Rich!
I especially like the John 6:33 verse:
“For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
04-17-2023, How is hope in Jesus different than other types of hope.
All of our hope is given to us by God!
Believers have been born again, we are now living the eternal life we have received through Jesus Christ. The eyes of our hearts have been enlightened, by the power of the Holy Spirit and we now see the glory of God, in this world and universe He created for us to live in for a time.
1 Peter 1:3, Ephesians 1:18, Romans 15:13, Psalm 19:1
God has given us Scripture which is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that we His children may be adequate, equipped for every good work He has predestined for each of us.
2 Timothy 3:16
Ron,
Thank you! You are right: Hope itself is a gift from God!
Most other types of hope are based on what I can do. Hyper simplified:
If I am good enough, I can _.
If I work hard enough, I can _.
If I can let go enough, I can _.
If I give _ this, I can _.
Christianity says “If Jesus died and rose again, I can _.”
Angela,
What a great point! It is a kind of “if … then” hope. When the “if” relies on our own strength, we know it will eventually fail. When the “if” relies on Jesus Christ, we can be confident of eternal success!