Jesus Is Our Hope
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. (Heb. 1:3 CSB)
I know I have read this verse before. Hebrews is one of my favorite books in the Bible. But when I read it the other day, it felt new. I was blown away by how this one verse seems to sum Jesus up perfectly for me. Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature. Let those words sink in. Think about all the stories about Jesus in the Gospels. That is who God is. Radiant and glorious. The one who gives us hope and sustains us.
The Lord is the one who gives us hope and sustains us. This is good news, and we need to pay attention to it.
To understate the obvious, the world is in a bad place right now. I would say most of us are worried, frustrated, angry, sad—we are all running through a whole gamut of emotions. But during these difficult times, I think we are prone to forget the good news. The Lord will sustain us. There is hope in him.
I am not dismissing what we are feeling. We will feel those emotions. We will experience hardships. We will feel helpless and scared. We will be saddened by the pain of others. However, in all that we go through, we need to remember the Lord first, not last.
With all the angst and anger, hurt and heartache that is prevalent right now, Christians need to step up and share Jesus as the glory of God that he is!
Now, I know that even the church has become divided. We all have personal opinions we hold dear. Obviously, we don’t want to sway whichever way the wind blows; we should stand firm on our basic core values. We all have personal decisions to make for ourselves and our families, and we make those as best we can with the information we have and the values we believe in. However, we can’t let our personal values become our god and turn us into worldly people.
All Christians should first and foremost agree that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light (John 14:6). Second, we should be sharing this truth as much as we can and without any caveats attached.
The world is hurting, and many of us are feeling hopeless. But we have the solution. We have Jesus. We must share Jesus with all who will listen. The only hope for the lost and painful world is Jesus.
Mere humans aren’t going to save us. Politicians definitely aren’t going to save us. Christian leaders, speakers, teachers, and influencers aren’t going to save us. We have got to start filtering what we see, hear, and believe through the absolute truth of Jesus.
While we may feel hopeless and helpless, we are not. We are not hopeless. We have the ultimate hope in Jesus. We are not helpless. If all you can do right now is pray, that is something! Don’t underestimate the power of a praying person!
The world needs the straight gospel. Jesus is the Savior. He is our hope, our sustainer, our constant, the Alpha and the Omega. He is everything. Christians need to simply share the gospel. We need to throw off all the extra rhetoric we like to add to it.
This world looks bleak. This is to be expected because we live in a fallen place. But, Christians, we know how this all ends. The Lord is triumphant! We need to start acting like we believe it and get to work.
Dear Lord, help us put aside the division and anger that separates us. Guide us to those who need us. Help us be brave and bold in sharing the gospel. Be with those who are hurting, Lord. We ask your healing hand to be upon our world. In Jesus’s glorious name we pray. Amen.
Scripture for Reflection
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17 NIV)
God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore, we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its water roars and foams and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah (Ps. 46:1-3 CSB)
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. (Ps. 73:26 CSB)
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (Rev. 22:13 CSB)
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58 NIV)
Reach for More
First, pray for our nation and our world. Then ask the Lord to give you opportunities to share the gospel and to be the hands and feet of Jesus for others. Help someone in need however you can.
is a writer, blogger, and middle school teacher. She and her husband live in Georgia with their three children. In addition to teaching and writing, Dana loves to read, paddle board, and sometimes run. She blogs about faith, family, and enjoying the everyday life at danaherndon.com.
Photograph © Jasmin Ne, used with permission
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