Hope Is a Natural By-product

Verse 15 reminds us to sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts and to always be ready to explain where the hope that is in us comes from. I love the way these two thoughts are linked together in the same verse. It makes an assumption. If you sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart others will notice that this brings you incredible hope. In other words, when we keep Christ as centre in our daily lives a natural by-product is hope, a hope so powerful that those around us will notice it.

Martin Luther used to remind himself of his baptism every morning. He wanted to start his day with a reminder that Christ is Lord of his heart and he was a forgiven and marked child of God. That daily reminder gave him the hope he needed to face the day.

We need hope. Life is hard, and we often face competing demands for our time and energy. It can be exhausting and draining. How comforting it is then, to know that when we take the time to centre our lives around Christ that hope will abide.

Dear Lord, take centre focus in my life again. Remind me that I am forgiven and have the hope of a loved child of God. Amen. — VB