Tuesday, June 26
Read Titus 2:13. What great hope do we have, and why?
Describing his beliefs about the origins of our universe, a lecturer explained that about 13 billion years ago “an infinitely dense tiny mass popped out of nothing, and that mass exploded and from that explosion our universe came into existence”. Just how this “infinitely dense tiny mass” could just pop out of nothing, the lecturer didn’t say. He just assumed, by faith, that it did.
Now, as we noted in the introduction to this week’s lesson, in our origins we find our endings. This is why, according to this lecturer, our endings aren’t too hopeful, at least in the long run. The universe, created from this “infinitely dense tiny mass”, was doomed to eventual extinction, along with all that was in it, which includes humanity of course.
In contrast, the biblical concept of our origins is not only much more logical than this view but also much more hopeful. Thanks to the God of origins, our long-term prospects are very good. We have so much to be hopeful for in the future, and this hope rests on the promise of Jesus’ second coming.
Read 2 Timothy 4:6-8. What is Paul talking about here, and in what is he putting his hope?
Though Paul is soon to be executed, he lives in assurance of salvation and the hope of Christ’s return, what Paul calls “His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8, NKJV) . A “crown of righteousness” awaits him, certainly not his own righteousness (1 Timothy 1:15) but the righteousness of Jesus, upon which Paul knows his hope in the promise of the Second Coming rests. Regardless of his immediate circumstances, which were dismal at best (in jail, waiting to be executed), Paul knows his long-term prospects are very good. And that is because he was looking at the big picture, not focusing only on the immediate situation.
Regardless of your own immediate circumstances, how can you have the same hope as did Paul? How can we learn to look at the big picture and the hope it offers us?
