Jan 1954 - Editorial

Someone has said that hope springs eternally in the human breast, but, like many other sayings of men, the thought is inaccurately and extravagantly expressed. True, men love to think of some blessing, sooner or later, to accrue to them, but hope is something more than a desire, and it is only in the Scriptures that we have precision of thought and the right use of words on such a subject. Not all men have hope, we are told in many places, but in one which carries the most solemn of thoughts, when the sorrow of death afflicts the human mind, the apostle Paul enjoins the Christian to sorrow not, "even as the rest, which have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4.13), and again in Ephesians 2.12, it says of the Christian that at one time he too had no hope. Man by nature can have no eternal hope springing up in his breast when he has not come to know the One through whom the hope may be received. Men speak of hope with reference only to things limited in time, but these are not eternal; their hope is little more than a wish, but in the Scriptures the hope that is referred to is a hope that is absolutely certain, being based upon the promises of God. We were "strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope," but now the Christian is a creature with a hope. The patriarchs were men of faith who listened to the voice of God, and they died in their faith, "not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."

Faith and hope are linked together, as in 1 Corinthians 13.13, and if faith may be likened to the strong roots of a tree, unseen but vital, hope may be likened to the sturdy trunk of the tree, and out of it spring branches bearing the lovely fruits of Christian conduct. Show us a man deficient in the practical outworking of the Christian life and we shall find him a man who dwells little upon the hope laid up for him to enjoy.

In the principal articles this year many phases of the Christian's hope will come before us, thoughts of the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to take us far away from this woeful earth, thoughts of heavenly glory to nerve our faint endeavour, thoughts of wonderful revelations of the grace and glory of God to be enjoyed in sweet companionship with the Lord and beloved fellow-saints. But these are not realities without effect upon present lives. The Christian, knowing himself to be justified and at peace with God, is encouraged to rejoice in hope of the glory of God, even through tribulations, that patience may have a perfect work. The connexion between faith and patience is extended to hope, that we, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us, should have it as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast (Hebrews 6.18, 19), and be diligent unto the fulness of hope even to the end, that we might not be sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Hebrews 6.11, 12).

Patience and sluggishness are not the same. The sluggish man is one without spiritual energy, and without activity of mind and body, prepared to let the days go by, and indifferent to the manifestations of Christian love and service. The patient man is one who is prepared to endure because he has a hope, the fulfilment of which will fully recompense him for all he has endured, for all he has done in love and charity to others, and in the testimony of his Lord. Faith may not be visible, but hope makes itself manifest, and it is our prayer that in this year of grace the writings concerning the Coming of the Lord may deepen our spiritual apprehension, and as we lay hold on the hope set before us so may we find that we are laying hold of eternal life, which is a state of spiritual activity.

unknown | Jan 1954
Editorial