Perfect Hope – 14 April 2020

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3

The milestones marking our children’s development, along with other pivotal times in our lives, are very important to us. What makes them so special is that they don’t happen easily, or by chance. It often takes a lot of effort, time and sacrifice to reach them.

Sometimes the milestone is worthy of a celebration of whole-hearted rejoicing with others, with everyone returning home inspired and richer for having been part of the experience; other times it’s enough to treasure the memory in our hearts. When it comes to marking the hope that God brings through the Bible, it calls for a great celebration of the occasion.

We experienced this recently at a beautiful banquet held in celebration of God’s goodness and faithfulness in bringing the Bible Society of South Africa to its 200th year of working in our land. There have surely been bears, lions and giants to contend with over the years leading up to it, just as David experienced – and this special year is no different – but God is on the throne “sustaining all things by his powerful word”.

God’s faithful and loving provision through the years have enabled the Bible to be translated into the heart language of every one of the eleven official languages of our country, bringing the hope of change through the Gospel. Similarly, the blessings of the newly launched Bible for the Deaf, a Bible in Braille for the blind, and the Bible online, give so much to rejoice over; and the work continues. Translating the Bible for the smaller language groups continues, revising existing translations and developing further literacy material means that everyone will one day be able to reap the fruits of the hope that has been sown.

This hope is a lighthouse to our country at this time. We have the opportunity to reevaluate where we are as individuals and as a nation. We need healing and we need to change. The verse today reminds us that Jesus reigns as victor because He was true to His mission of redemption through the cross.  Will we follow His example and mark this milestone in our history as a victory to celebrate?

Let’s hear Paul’s encouragement for our own hearts: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12) and, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the source of our hope and our healing. Help us to come humbly to You in our time of need and follow Your leading through Your powerful word till we have the victory. Amen