Rhys Bezzant
12 March 2025
Why is it that as Christians we are more comfortable talking about faith and love, but hope gets less attention? Why is practising hopefulness so difficult? Perhaps our world like the ancient world finds it hard to grasp its power.
Indeed, one great Greek thinker, Thucydides, wrote about hope with disdain. It was for him a dangerous comfort, and a threat to democratic life: “Hope, danger’s comforter, may be indulged in by those who have abundant resources, if not without loss at all events without ruin; but its nature is to be extravagant.”
Hope renders human beings irresponsible and negligent. For others it creates a temporary illusion, not necessarily bad, but not especially good either. Many English poets qualify hope as faint, trembling, feeble and frail, even elusive, as something delicate that we must handle with care, lest we break it when we grip too tightly.
So, what a contrast we find in the words of the Apostle Paul.
Read more: Hope is offered in the Statement of the Heart
He knew that many of his contemporaries were without hope in the world. They grieved when they confronted death without any sense of the possibility of life beyond the grave (I Thes. 4:13). How shocking it was then for Paul to portray hope in Romans 5:1-5 in such bold terms. Something sure, something motivating, something ennobling. Christ’s death which brings peace with God is also the pathway through grace into our glorious hope.
Though life might be challenging, our circumstances engrave hope into our hearts. Hope does not simply mean progress. Hope means the possibility of persevering in trials to experience God’s love when progress is nowhere to be seen. Indeed, hope is closely linked to the Holy Spirit, who is the downpayment of heaven in our lives.
Hope is not a forlorn longing, but a gift of grace and a valiant virtue, making us ready to rejoice.
Hope is in short supply in our world. But life in Christ is always on offer.
The Reverend Canon Dr Rhys Bezzant is the principal of Ridley College.
This article is part of a series of reflections under Hope25, a national evangelism initiative that equips Anglicans to share their hope in Jesus. They aim to encourage us to have a sure and certain hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We encourage you to look out for these weekly reflections and share them in your parishes.
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