Hope in Christ

Read Malachi 3:1-3, Luke 1:17, and John 2:13-17

“And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17)

My mother told me many times as I was growing up to ‘hope for the best but prepare for the worst.’ I listened to her words and hoped to always be prepared just like a Girl Scout. What I didn’t understand at that time was that these words would cloud my view of God. Was I really believing in the promises of God or in the salvation offered by Jesus if deep down I was working hard to make sure that I gained God’s love and eternal life? Once I chose to believe that God’s word is true, His promises are real, and that salvation is Jesus’ gift, I didn’t need to prepare for the worst any longer. I also didn’t need to hope for the best because I can put my hope in Christ (Romans 5:5).

Malachi, ‘my messenger,’ brings two messages to the people: God is displeased with His people and He is going to send a messenger. Malachi points toward the coming of John the Baptist 400 years before his birth. John was “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). Jesus came with a purpose and a mission to reconcile the world to the Father and give us hope. From the beginning God had a plan to restore us through His son—His plan not ours. We need not hope for the best for the best has already been provided.

DIG DEEPER:

• How has a belief from your past been changed by a new understanding of the Gospel?
• Find scriptures to combat this skewed thinking and present the true picture of God, Jesus, His character. Write them down.

written by Dawn Schuessler