“Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you“ (1 Peter 3:15)
These words from Peter have advised all believers in Christ to always be ready to explain the reason for the hope that they have. This, of course, relies on hope being a bountiful result of living the teachings of Jesus. How does hope come from the gospel? What exactly is the hope that the gospel provides?
The book of Mormon provides a potential response to Peter’s question, with this teaching from Mormon:
And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise. Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope” (Moroni 7:41-42)
Ultimately, the hope which the gospel provides is eternal life. There is more to it than just latching onto an idea or concept of retaining identity and having happiness forever. There is a reason that can come to cause a person to cause them to have this hope which is more than just entertaining the idea or having a positive attitude about it.
The reason for having this kind of hope is because a person receives a promise from God and can then trust the merits of God to fulfill that promise. This is the “because of your faith in him according to the promise” part of the equation.
This kind of hope is more than some kind of fluffy, whimsical fairy tale kind of hope. It is a firm hope that has real backing to it.
A weak hope may be the kind of hope any person might have if they entertained the idea that one day they would be rich or succesful, for example. Sure a lot of people might hope that something might happen to bring that about in life. But without having any real plan or path to make that happen, it’s kind of an empty hope without much substance to it.
On the other hand, suppose such a person had a really close friend who was successful in many different endeavors. A single one could make any person rich or successful and this friend has many. The man approaches this friend and asks him if he knows of anyway that he can also be successful. The friend, knowing the man closely, says confidently “Absolutely! I know exactly how you can be successful! In fact, I’ll lay it out for you and I am absolutely sure that if you follow through with what I tell you, you will certainly find the success you seek!”
Now, there is time between this moment when the man receives this assurance from his friend and when the end result is actually realized. The state between the moment he receives this assurance and when it is realized, is a state of hope. It is a genuine hope. It comes from the assurance he receives from someone he trusts and knows what he is talking about and is able to fulfill. It’s not just some fluffy, whimsical hope. It is a hope based on assurance provided to him by someone who knows him and also knows how to make it happen. It’s not that he receives what he wants immediately. That’s not hope. But having hope does motivate him and give him reason to be happy and more optimistic about his chances of actually receiving what he desires.
This is the kind of hope the gospel of Jesus Christ can offer. It’s not just a whimsical, fluffy, feel good, or positive attitude kind of hope. It is a hope that comes by receiving a personal promise from Jesus, assuring eternal life. Until a person receives this promise for himself, the hope that he may have isn’t what is could be. What must happen, is to receive this promise. While other people’s assurances, might be helpful, nothing compares to actually receiving this assurance from the fulfiller of the promise Himself, the only one who is qualified to give this gift.
The promise alone is not the final destination. It is an assurance that the destination will indeed be realized. The time between receiving this promise and actually realizing its fulfillment is a state of real, genuine hope. The reason to hope and trust this promise is because the one making this promise is able to fulfill it. It is trusting Jesus and relying on his merits to fulfill what he promises. This hope is because of your faith in him, according to the promise.