HOPE

By Nick Kalb

Story

What do you hope for? That’s kind of a weird question for kids, because the world for a kid is kinda small. Kids have their parents, immediate family, extended family, and maybe school and activity people. Hope is a BIG word for older people, and when they think about it, I mean really think about it, their answer is usually very important. This makes explaining “hope” kind of tricky.

One thing for sure I can say is that hope is something we look forward to. Once you get to what you’re hoping for, the hope part is over! I know there are two things kids always hope for, Christmas and their birthday. Do you know that feeling you get when you know one of those days is close? That excitement? The closer those days get for my kids the more they want to talk about what those days mean for them. When it’s time for Christmas or a birthday, I usually take my kids out to look at toys. I give them a chance to take pictures of things they would like. They may not be getting most of what they wish for, but it’s always good fun to look around!

Since hope works differently in the life of a kid, it’s easy to think that hope in Christ may be a bit beyond their ability to understand. It turns out that they have a big advantage over us grown-ups.

Bible

Read all of Ephesians chapter 1. Paul is talking about our hope in God’s presence as if he’s looking right at it! It’s a bit much for kids to understand, but important for them to hear.

“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?” (Romans 8:24)

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In 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)

Think

Life comes at you fast and can be complicated and hard, but a child’s hope shows us how simple life really is. God has a place waiting for us to be with Him. Part of being a grown up is coming to terms with the fact that you aren’t the person you wanted to be. That’s what makes life complicated and difficult (most of the time). I’m not who I was supposed to be as a grown up, and most of my problems are of my own making. This makes thinking of the hope I have in Jesus hard. The reason why Jesus is a living hope is because my hope isn’t in a far-off time that I have to wait for, but a person that says I can know Him now. It’s a little like getting some of my birthday presents early. We can handle hard times now because we know our Hope personally.

Do Something

Find somewhere quiet and write down what you think it will be like to see Jesus! Will you laugh? Will you cry? What do you hope for?

Pray

Dear God, you are the best hope I have. Help me to think about my hope everyday, so that I can live like I can’t wait to see You! In Jesus’ name, amen.