We don’t just belong to our community, we belong to the kingdom of light.

The kingdom of light calls us to hope.

Specifically, Paul is the one spreading the call.

 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.”

Eph 1:18a

I really recommend reading the whole passage, because Paul shares some great truth. And I’m not just assuming–I read it this morning. 😉

Called to Hope

We are called to hope. I wrote a blog post about Being a Ray of Hope, but it’s not just my guide to being a good friend in one step. It’s something God called us to (Eph 1:18).

It’s not just a fanciful idea. It’s a calling.

Hope can feel fanciful. With an update on the Israeli war from just 6 minutes ago, hope might sound naive to think about. Even with everyday struggles and anxieties, it can sound like a far-fetched ideal.

I start a new job at a Japanese restaurant today and I don’t have much hope about it. Honestly, I have dread coiling around my gut. 

Instead of hoping this job is something good that God provided in my life, I’m imagining all the awful things that could happen. And as I sit here with my friends, it takes bravery to put that hopelessness and fear into words. 

It distracts me from conversation. It separates me from connection. It bars me from the peace I own as a child of God.

It’s kinda awful.

It’s not just a fanciful idea. It’s a calling.

Lucky for us, Paul offers a solution. He prays “that the eyes of [our] heart[s] may be enlightened.”

Hope comes from prayer and inward enlightenment. If you want to understand what Paul means by “eyes of the heart” (it’s a weird phrase), I found an incredible Desiring God article explaining it.

One Hope

Ephesians 4:4 talks about only one hope, the same way there’s only one Jesus. 

Prayer is the best way to make sure we find that one hope.

But what does it mean that there’s only one hope? Should we only hope in Jesus’s return and nothing else? Never hope that a friendship will weather a rough spot, never hope for God to change something in our lives, never hope that we’ll pass the next agonizing math test?

No! We have a powerful God. 

Like the book This Changes Everything by Jaquelle Crowe (who I’ve had the honor of interacting with as part of the Young Writer’s Workshop program), I’m convinced that Jesus changes everything.

Born again means we’re fundamentally different at our cores. Or at least growing towards that. What’s the point if there’s no power in our lives?

So I think our one hope is a lens. Hope-colored glasses to see the world through. These aren’t like rose-colored glasses, because those aren’t realistic. Hope is reality’s friend, not its enemy.

 

 

 

 

Hope is reality’s friend, not its enemy.

Hope in Jesus isn’t naive or stupid. 

Like Romans 5:5 says: “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Decide you belong to hope today. Cling to it every moment. And be ready to answer for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15)

Belonging to the kingdom of light in a world of darkness is always worth it.