Where Do You Ground Your Hope?

Last year, on April 22, 2017, I opened up to my daily devotional and discovered that I was reading Easter – Day 7.   This year, Easter – Day 7 falls on today – April 7, 2018.  For most, this is not significant.  But I have a note at the top of my page that reads “Day that Dad passed away – 4/2/2016.”

Seeking God’s Face – Praying with the Bible through the Year is the devotional I use for my personal prayer time.  It is organized around the Christian calendar starting with the season of Advent, then Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and ends with Ordinary Time.  This format is interesting because, with the exception of Christmas always falling on December 25^th, the Christian calendar is not set.  Ash Wednesday and Lent are not always at the same time.  Easter Sunday is not always the same day.   And so, the day that my devotional marks as Easter Day 7 is not always on the same day either.

The anniversary of dad’s passing will always be April 2^nd.  But there is a sweet sentiment in knowing that its anniversary, when viewed from the Christian calendar, is also marked by celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  April 2^nd is not always in the Easter season.  But Easter Day 7 is.

We have the Easter season because the implications of Easter Sunday are too big to let rest on a single day.   We join those who doubted, those who feared, and those who celebrated.  The resurrection was without precedent.  We need to spend the time to let the reality of the resurrection take hold.  Easter invites us to view the world differently – through the lens of a new life born out of faith in the resurrected Christ.

Easter invites us to view the world through a different lens. Click To Tweet

Melancholy sadness punctuated my heart as I read through the scriptures highlighted on this day and remembered my dad.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you… (1 Pet 1:3-4″ (TNIV).

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col 3:1-4 TNIV).

My dad left us with the gift of knowing that he believed in Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.  He knew rebirth into the living hope of Jesus.   As I read these verses, my heart began to celebrate the knowledge that this was the day my dad experienced resurrection and had entered glory.  He has been raised with Christ and has taken his seat at the right of God with Christ.

Easter – Day 7 is the day my dad received his inheritance in Christ.  Joy mingles with sadness because of this.

The Easter season, when our resurrected Christ appeared to many who became the founders of Christianity, is the time to evaluate what our hope is grounded in.  I believe I will see my dad again.  My hope for this is grounded in God’s Word that promises us an inheritance as one of His children.  This inheritance is eternal, not subject to decay, no division of it diminishes its value, and it is divinely kept for us by Christ in heaven.

Does this hope ground you?  This isn’t a hope for us just in terms of being reunited with loved ones.  Although that is important, this is a hope that encourages us to seek Jesus in our daily lives.  A hope that helps us press on through the trials, the difficulties, the annoyances of life, into living a life that honors God.

When we stand before the throne of Jesus we want to hear Him say Well Done as He extends His hand out to take ours, leading us to our seat next to Him.

I believe my dad heard those words.  I believe my dad is seated with Christ in heaven.   My dad has received his divinely kept inheritance and one day I will receive my heavenly inheritance too.

And when that happens, I hope those coming behind me will have joy that mingles with their sadness.

Not joy that I’m dead.  Goodness.  But joy that I am alive in Christ.  And I hope the legacy I leave is the legacy my dad left; a hope for an imperishable inheritance, divinely kept for you in heaven.

This first appeared in the March / April edition of the Christian Community News Magazine published by Papa’s Pantry.  I am honored to be a part of their ministry and I encourage you to check out the rest of the magazine for more encouragement as well as the ministry of Papa’s Pantry.