As born-again believers, people who have declared Jesus as lord and believed in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we have the hope of Jesus Christ’s return. There’s a reason God tells us about Christ’s future return and the inheritance reserved for us in heaven. As we keep in mind what God’s Word says about the Hope, we can enjoy the benefits that it brings to our lives today. This Hope helps keep us anchored throughout life’s challenges, and it helps us maintain a true perspective in life.
I Peter 1:3,4:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.
Though Christ’s return and our inheritance are in the future, God has allowed us to benefit from it today by telling us about it in His Word.
I Thessalonians 4:13-17:
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
God didn’t have to tell us that Jesus Christ is returning and that there is an inheritance reserved for us in heaven in order for it to come to pass. He could have kept it a secret and had it be a nice surprise for us later. So then, why did God have the return of Christ recorded for us in His Word? It is logical to conclude that He did so because knowing about it benefits us today.
One benefit of knowing about the hope of Christ’s return is that it is an anchor to our soul.
Hebrews 6:19:
Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast….
An anchor holds something steadfast; it gives stability to an object. Just as an anchor keeps a boat from drifting away, the hope of Christ’s return helps keep us from being blown about by the winds of life’s situations and challenges. This lively hope inspires us to consider what God has in store for us in the future, which includes our rewards in heaven for our faithful stand in this life. Hebrews 6:19 declares that the Hope is sure and steadfast. Christ will return. Keeping the Hope in our mind anchors us; it helps to keep us stable on His Word instead of drifting away from our spiritual goals in life.
Another benefit to knowing about the hope of Christ’s return is that it helps us maintain a true perspective in life. This true perspective in life is seeing the bigger picture that God has for us and not just seeing and focusing on the situations we face in the senses realm. We will face challenges in life; however, the rewards throughout eternity that God has promised make these afflictions seem light in comparison. Holding the hope of Christ’s return in our thinking helps us to maintain a true perspective in how we view life today. It gives us the panoramic spiritual view.
II Corinthians 4:17,18:
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
We can look ahead to rewards throughout eternity that God promises us for standing fast on His Word through afflictions, which will actually seem light when compared to our far more exceeding weight of glory. When we know what God’s Word says about the Hope, we see the bigger picture and maintain a true spiritual perspective.
God had a reason for recording in His Word the hope of Christ’s return and the eternal rewards that await us for standing faithfully. The Hope brings benefits to our lives today. It is an anchor to our soul that helps keep us steadfast through the winds of life. In addition to being an anchor, the Hope, along with our eternal rewards, helps us to see God’s bigger picture for our lives. This allows us to push through challenges as we keep in mind the eternal weight of glory that the future holds for us as born-again believers. As we keep these truths in mind, we are able to reap the benefits they can bring to our lives today.