Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of . . . our Saviour Jesus Christ. Titus 2:13.

To have Christ as our hope means to believe in a different kind of life where exists every possible perfection. Then we shall be as we were meant to be. The law of heaven will then be the law of the new earth. We who confess Christ acknowledge that He will do right by us. He will restore us to that state in which He originally created us. In eternity we shall have neither guilt within us nor enemies about us nor death before us.

Only the work of Christ in our lives will remain, and nothing of sin. The things and glories of this world lack the quality of eternity. Christ's coming will cause joy on the one hand and sorrow on the other. For the saved, Christ's coming will be the realization of all their hopes. We shall have none but good company, and they will be better than they are now. With delightful surprise we shall experience what God has in store for us. It will excel all that we have had down here.

We live by hope. What patience this hope engenders! What strength we have to sustain our hopes! What resignation to the shortness of life, knowing that we have an eternal future with Christ! What occasions for Christian witness and what heroism this hope inspires! What faith to keep on through weary years inspires us to be true to God. We know the devil can make life difficult on this earth. He causes men to destroy the earth and pollute that which God originally made beautiful. But he cannot take the faith, the love, the joy, and the beauty out of our hearts and lives.

With our hope centered in Christ, we must learn to live bravely and truly without much thought of earthly consequences. I pity the people who are continually looking for more things to make life smoother and more secure. We cannot spend our days doing that. In a few years life will all be washed up, finished on this earth. We stand on the perilous edge of eternity. We live now as God's people. That puts every unworthy, selfish purpose in its proper place. The blessed hope shines in our hearts and on our faces.