One Hope of Your Calling (Ephesians 4:4)
by Tim Nichols

Viktor E. Frankl was a long time prisoner in the terrible concentration camps of Nazi Germany. He was stripped of all that he had. He suffered from cold, hunger, brutality, and deprivation beyond what most of us can even begin to imagine. Except for Viktor and one sister, his entire family died in those camps. We are made to wonder what it would have been like to be forced to endure such things. What could give someone in such circumstances a will to hold on and to continue living?

    Viktor went on to become a famous psychiatrist with his own views about what gives men and women the will to continue living in the midst of difficult conditions. His ideas were not formed in a sterile laboratory. They were shaped by his own experiences that no decent human would ever choose to duplicate. He developed what he calls "logotherapy" and he wrote a book entitled Man's Search For Meaning in which he describes some of his experiences, conclusions, and methods for attempting to help those in crisis. He seems to have concluded that people can endure more than they might think they can when they are able to hold on to some great hope for the future. Those who committed suicide in the camps had given up any real expectation that their misery would ever end, that they would be reunited with their loved ones, or that they would ever have another opportunity to fulfill some meaningful purpose in life. He wrote that,

"A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the 'why' for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any 'how' "(p. 100).

    In his work with distressed people he worked to help them to find some meaningful things in the future that would make their lives worthwhile in the present. Tragically, though, many of the things that men "hope" for are illusions. They are not real. Viktor had sustained himself with the "hope" that he would one day be reunited with his wife, only to discover upon his release that she had perished in the camps.

"There were some men who found that no one awaited them. Woe to him who found that the person whose memory alone had given him courage in camp did not exist any more!"

    This kind of "hope" can be supporting and comforting for the moment but devastating when found to be counterfeit. Man's need for ultimate hope does not come without a proper object. The God who placed such a psychological need within us also reveals the means by which such a need can be truly and really satisfied.

    The Christian has a hope that is real. Heaven is not a dream. It is not an illusion. The child of God not only desires to be with his Father in Heaven for all eternity. He confidently expects to dwell with Him forever. Take away this hope and all other things for which one might aspire are meaningless and empty. The Christian is sustained by an eager anticipation of the yet unseen beauty of his eternal home. Paul was inspired to say much about this hope in Romans 8:

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.... Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.... For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it" (verses 18-25).

    This hope comes to us from the word of God when it is believed and obeyed (Romans 15:4; Colossians 1:5). If we will "continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel" (Colossians 1:23), no difficulty in this world can take away our reward. It is the soul's anchor. It is "sure and steadfast" (Hebrews 6:18, 19). To help our fellowmen to have this hope we need to be ready to tell them both what it is and why it is so certain (1 Peter 3:15; Acts 24:15). This hope motivates the Christian to remain pure and righteous (1 John 3:3; Titus 2:11-14). Unlike the fleeting desires and longings of this life, this hope is permanent, solid, and genuine (1 Peter 1:3-9).

"Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work" (2 Thessalonians 2:15-17).

This item originally appeared at My Two Cents Worth