Typical or Exceptional?

Fellow Labourers-

Typical or Exceptional? brings to my mind Faith or Hope? Have you ever asked yourself what is hope and what is the difference or similarity between Faith and Hope? Well, I sometimes try to make the distinction and find myself also contrasting the two. But,what is hope? According to John Calvin, "Hope is nothing else than the expectation of those things which faith has believed to have been truly promised by God. Thus, faith believes God to be true, hope awaits the time when this truth shall be manifested; faith believes that he is our Father; hope anticipates that he will ever show himself to be a Father toward us; faith believes that eternal life has been given to us, hope anticipates that it will some time be revealed; faith is the foundation upon which hope rests, hope nourishes and sustains faith." John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion.


Faith and Hope are like inseparable Siamese twins. No wonder Hebrews reminds us that "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." They are two legs of the same two legged stool. The stool cannot stand on one leg it needs both. So, we as Christians must have faith and hope operating at the same time. We can have faith and lose hope. So often times it is not that people have lost faith, it is that they have lost hope. Once we lose hope we can lose perspective and hence our confidence can be shaken. Your faith may be challenged but don't lose hope. "Who against hope believed in hope..." (Rom.4:18); "For we are saved by hope..." (Rom.8:24); "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." (Rom.15:4); "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear." (1 Peter 3:15). Remember hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.

Pax Vobiscum

Robert Stewart