Use the future to shape today.

The story of Chad le Clos’ Olympic victory over Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly need not be told here. Needless to say, it has been celebrated repeatedly in the media and interviews with his Dad – who refers to Chad as “my beautiful boy” – have brought tears to millions of eyes. Indeed, one such interview seems to have gone viral on You Tube.

Be that as it may, I was struck by Chad’s reflections on an interaction he once had with a fellow student at Westville Boys High in Durban. The lad in question observed that Chad was very “lucky” to have been awarded full colours for swimming. Chad was clearly of the opinion, however, that success in swimming has less to do with luck than hard work and discipline. So he talked about his Friday nights when socialising with friends had to be sacrificed on the altar of Saturday morning galas. No doubt early Fridays were the tip of the iceberg where sacrifices were concerned.

As I watched Chad on the winner’s podium, his lip quivering and tears sliding down his cheeks, it occurred to me that a future hope will inevitably shape the present. The hope of winning gold must have shaped Chad’s life for months and years at a time, right down to the details of every hour, minute, second and in the case of the final, every hundredth of a second.

An image of Chad on the podium flashed across my mind’s eye a few weeks ago when I read:

1 Peter 1:13 ... prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

The “grace” you will receive when Christ returns is immortality and an eternal reward. These sure beat an Olympic gold medal, and you must allow the hope of eternity to shape your life.

In the Greek, the only imperative in this verse is “set your hope fully”. But Peter uses two pictures to illustrate how to “set your hope”.

The first picture is one of a man running. The phrase “prepare your mind for action” could be translated more literally as “gird up the loins of your mind”. The dress of Peter’s day included a long “shirt” that hung down to the ground. This “shirt” had to be tucked into the belt so that the runner would not get entangled in it.

If your focus is the return of Christ, you will be ever watchful and alert, making sure that your mind has not become entangled with lies, obsessions or worldly philosophies and values.

So the first picture was of a man trying to run but getting tangled in long flowing garments. The second picture is of a drunk. A drunk is not self-controlled. He is controlled by alcohol.

If your mind is focused on the winner’s podium, you will not allow anything to take control of you. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “I will not be mastered by anything”. What is mastering you at the moment? Perhaps it is fear, or bitterness, or the love of money, or anger, or insecurities, or an addiction or problem behavior.

Larry Norman sings, “this world is not my home – I’m just passing through”. Do not live as though this life is all there is. It is a constant battle, I know. People must see the hope of eternity shining in the way you think, in the things you do or do not do and in your treatment of others. Therefore, set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed, and use hope to shape today.

Dealing with a dead hope

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).

I have been struggling with an obdurate sinus infection. And I have to say - and this is stating the case very mildly – that the symptoms are a tad unpleasant. Looking for relief, I went to the doctor, who prescribed an antibiotic and some other pills. So with great anticipation, I began taking the medicine (with a spoon full of sugar) hoping that in a day or two I would get better.

Reader, I’m afraid I did not get better. And a hope deferred does indeed make the heart sick. There is nothing worse than a sore head and a “sick heart”, even if the source of the “sick heart” is on this occasion fairly easy to address.

I’m sure everyone has experienced a deferred hope at one time or another. And a deferred hope is bad enough. But how does one deal with a dead hope? Perhaps you had hoped to grow old with your children and grandchildren but now they live in Australia. Or maybe you had hoped to live in Zimbabwe but now you must move to another country because you can’t make a living here. I know of people who have launched businesses hoping for job satisfaction, rewards and a secure retirement. I know of men and women who have entered marriage with high hopes and dreams only to find betrayal and disappointment.

Dead hopes come in many forms. And it is not that these hopes were ever wrong or misguided. They were merely uncertain hopes.

Question is: how do we cope when our hopes are deferred or die?

The antidote to a dead hope is the one and only LIVING HOPE. The Apostle Peter writes:

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... (1Pe 1:3)

There is one living hope only, a hope that will never lead to sickness of heart but rather to joy and gladness. The joy of a living hope will give you strength to weather hardship. Since God has given you life through spiritual rebirth, and since He raised Jesus Christ from the dead, there is hope that you too will one day be resurrected “into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you” (v4).

So with the words of Priscila Jane Owens I ask the question:

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift or firm remain?

In answering this question, take a moment to affirm: I have a living hope. It will never turn to ash. It will not crumble in my hands. It will not blow away in the storms of life.

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
 Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.

Cheers for now - Ian