What is Christian hope?

And, how is it different from secular hope or a wish?

A wish as defined by Merriam Webster is having a desire for something, often something that is unobtainable.

Hope is defined by Merriam Webster as to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true.

So, it seems, the difference between hoping and wishing in the secular sense is the difference in the degree we think something could happen.

A wish seems unobtainable.

Hope seems more probable—though not guaranteed.

How do they contrast with Christian hope?

The best definition of Christian Hope is found in the Bible.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” - Romans 15:13 (NIV)

Christian Hope is a living hope. It was born in the resurrection of Christ. It continues through the power of the Holy Spirit.

This living hope is different from secular hope or a wish in that it is a power and a promise—not a desire or a want.

Our living hope is this:

It is the promise of the resurrection for those who believe in Christ.

It is the knowledge that heaven is real and is our ultimate home.

It is the reality that the Holy Spirit lives within us and guides us as we seek and pray for this guidance.

It is the full assurance that the Word of God is here for us to understand this life and the life to come. In the Bible, we see the fallen state of humanity. We see what happens if men turn their backs on God and go their own ways. We see, learn, and fully understand why we need God and the importance of following His moral code as lived out by Christ.

This is our Christian hope—that the ever-living, ever-lasting Christ, who overcame this world and redeems us, calls us to live our lives for Him and enables us to do so.

In this hope, we find our purpose—to be the hands and feet of Jesus in today’s needy world.

So Christian Hope stands in contrast to secular hope and wishes in that it is firm. It is directional. It is living.

So often, when I meditate on Christian truth, and one of the old hymns comes to mind because they were often so perfectly tailored to expand upon Biblical truth. As I was writing this, the hymn “The Solid Rock” by Edward Mote (1834) came to mind.

Here are the lyrics to that hymn. As you read them, reflect on how solid Christian hope is compared to the secular hope:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

o Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Listen to those word that define Christian hope – built, solid, unchanging, the anchor that holds, oath, covenant, support.

This is Christian hope.

And as Romans 15:13 tells us, when God fills us with His joy and peace as we trust Him, we will overflow this (Christian) hope into the world through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Stand in this hope—and you will stand strong.