An expectation or belief that something desired will happen. Present hurts and uncertainty over what will happen in the future create the constant need for hope. Worldwide poverty, hunger, disease, and human potential to generate terror and destruction create a longing for something better. Historically, people have looked to the future with a mixture of longing and fear. Many have concluded that there is no reasonable basis for hope and therefore that to hope is to live with an illusion. Scripture tells us that those who do not have God do not have hope (Ephesians 2:12).
The modern world has sought hope in human effort and believes in the inevitability of progress that assumed everything would naturally get better and better. The threat and reality of war in the 20th century challenged that optimism and left growing despair in its wake. Though many still find little reason to hope, others have returned to a humanistic basis for hope. It is held that because people are the source of the world’s problems, they can also be the solution. This position can be called into question based on present and historical evidence to the contrary.
Christianity has often been considered in discussions concerning hope. Unfortunately, Christianity has not always been viewed positively in this regard. In the early centuries of church history, stress on the disparity between this world and the next seemed to create an attitude of escapism, futility, or indifference toward the problems and pains of human existence. In the 19th century Prussian philosopher Frederick Nietzsche (1844–1900) claimed that Christianity made people cowards because it taught that whatever happened was God’s will, thus discouraging efforts to change the world. Karl Marx (1818–83) said that Christianity or religion was the “opiate of the people” (opium is an addictive drug that dulls the senses). For Marx, religion kept people from rising against those who oppressed them.
Jürgen Moltmann has opposed the tendency of Christianity to be perceived as otherworldly in what has been called “the theology of hope.” That theology was the product of the pessimism and despair of post-World War II Europe. Moltmann’s theology of hope says that the future is the basis for changing the present, and that Christian service should be an attempt to make otherworldly hopes a present reality. The resurrection brings hope during suffering and encourages humans to overcome it. But trusting in human effort to change the future could lead to a humanistic notion of the resurrection, seeing it as a mere hopeful symbol to motivate action rather than recognizing it as God’s historical action in the world through Jesus Christ. Another concern is that the discussion of hope for this world by a transformation of political and social structures could neglect the need for personal transformation of people’s lives through conversion and repentance. While critical questions have been raised about the theology of hope, on the positive side that theology has led to examination or reexamination of the biblical doctrine of hope.
Biblical hope is hope in what God will do in the future. At the heart of Christian hope is the resurrection of Jesus. Paul discussed the nature, certainty, and importance of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12–28). By his statement “If we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world” Paul is affirming his certainty that Christian hope points to the future (verse 19, New Living Translation). The significance of Christ’s resurrection is that it not only points to his victory over death but also extends that victory to those who are his: “Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.” (verse 23). The apostle Peter said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). In that passage, Peter attributes living hope to the resurrection of Christ and points to God’s future blessing upon those who belong to Christ. That future hope empowers the Christian to live without despair through the struggle and suffering of the present (compare Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:16–18).
Christian hope is securely based upon the words and actions of God. The promises of God have proven to be dependable. The resurrection of Jesus becomes the ultimate basis for hope. Since God has already overcome death through Christ, the Christian can live with confidence in the present. No matter how dark the present age seems, the Christian has seen the light to come. People need to hope, and hope placed in the personal promise of God is secure. This secure hope is full of social significance, however, freeing one from bondage to materialism and its natural selfishness. Christian hope offers both security for the future and loving participation in sharing with others in the present.