5. The Parent’s Privilege: Gifting the Faith to Children by Looking Up
- The Parent’s Privilege: Gifting the Faith to the Children by Looking Up.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13).
Looking Up with Hope. The great love chapter in Scripture, 1 Corinthians 13, ends with the mentioning of the three great virtues in life: Faith, Hope and Love. Those are the Big Three. And the one that always gets lost in the shuffle is the one in the middle: Hope. It is the forgotten virtue, maybe because the two virtues flanking it on either side are so monumental. Hope is often seen as the little virtue in the middle between those two giants, Faith and Love. But we must do our best to remember hope. It is important we do it justice. For if there is one quality that will propel you forward in your marriage and family, it is constantly looking up with hope. It is what enables the faithful parent to keep going and growing in raising the children Hope is the parent’s faith in the future under God. It gives the parent something substantial to look forward to. Hope is when a parent eagerly anticipates that family life has purpose together, that home life has meaning that extends beyond the daily grind. So one wonders if, in order to keep faith alive, and to keep love alive, that perhaps it’s crucial that a parent keeps his/her hope alive.
Lord Protect My Child – Susan Tedeschi
Hopefulness. Yes, parents might be asking themselves… Does hope have any practical use? Isn’t hope a bit too abstract to be useful when raising children? Let’s do a deep dive into the meaning and importance of hope… The Hebrew word in Scripture for hope, “tikvah,” has as its root word “qavah” which means to wait. Thus in Scripture we find that occasionally the words hope and wait are somewhat interchangeable. “Hope moves the heart of God to come to our help with His grace.” (Father R. Cantalamessa). Various descriptions of hope might include: Hope is confidently expecting a positive outcome, as opposed to despair, which is fearfully expecting a negative outcome; hope is trusting God for one’s future, as opposed to doubt, which distrustful of God for one’s future; hope is an optimistic assurance based on reality, as opposed to wishful thinking, which is based on uncertainty; hope is a patient waiting that keeps one actively moving forward, as opposed to a frustrating resignation which passively keeps one stuck; hope is the strong inner urge to work through a difficulty and do what one can to solve it, as opposed to the inclination to avoid a difficulty and thus not solve anything; hope is the positive conviction that there is something substantial to look forward to, as opposed to one’s pessimistic belief that the future holds nothing but a bleak emptiness; hope is the anticipation of a triumphant future in the long run, as opposed to someone who doesn’t even believe in the possibility of a long run of any kind. As the ancient Church Father put it, “Hope is the loving movement of one’s spirit towards that which it hopes for.” (St. Didacus).
“They who patiently hope in the Lord by weaving together aspects of their lives with Him, will find their strength renewed. Trusting in the Lord, they will be able to lift off and soar like the eagles. When they are running their race, they will never get winded or weary; when they are walking through life, they will never become tired or give up.” (Isaiah 40:31).
Hope in Metaphor. Biblical writers also tried to tell the truth about hope through some interesting pictures for the imagination:
Hope is a Helmet (1 Thessalonians 5:8), protecting the mind. The importance of hope has been resurrected now by neuroscience. Brain research has uncovered the importance of hope to the degree that there is now a branch of neuroscience that is called “the science of hope.” Here we are in the 21st century, confirming that in the 1st century St. Paul was right on target when said that hope protects the mind. We now know that the emotion of hope protects the brain, like a helmet worn on one’s head. Science has proven that our brain was made to function much more effectively when we engage in hopefulness. Creator God made our brains to run best on the fuel of hope. One neuroscientist puts it this way, “Hope is as vital to the human brain as the oxygen we breathe.” (Professor Terry Small). So a parent needs to keep looking up to keep a sharp mind functioning at top efficiency, which every parent has to have.
Hope is an Anchor (Hebrews 6:19). A hopeful view of the future will connect the parent to eternity with God. Hope is an anchor for the soul that is firm and secure. This is interesting, because it’s upside-down. This isn’t an anchor that goes down from above to the depths below. No, hope is an anchor that is lodged up above in heaven, and is tied to us here below. This anchor is actually secured in heaven, and so it keeps each parent connected to heavenly matters, to eternal virtues, to the mind of Christ. The anchor up there keeps the home tied to the will of God down here. Hope will connect the parent and family to an anchor in glory, keeping everyone tethered to that which is permanent, to that which will not diminish and fall apart here on earth. Keeping a parent’s hope alive will anchor the home to life eternal.
Hope is a Springboard (Colossians 1:5). Here again, Scripture talks about hope in a way that is helpful on the home front. St. Paul says that faith and love springs from the hope that is stored up for us in heaven. Hope is a springboard for love and faith. When parents embrace the future with hope, they are able to trustingly embrace the present with love. Love jumps out of hope, and love for our spouse, our children, our neighbor, love for our enemy, love for the stranger, love for God. Imagine a diving board at the swimming pool. Imagine love and faith approaching that board. A little timid, a little unsure of what is to come. Now imagine that love and trust having the courage to walk out on the diving board of hope, and jumping into the water with confidence and assurance. Hope is that diving board for a parent’s love and faith. Confidence in the future because of God’s goodness produces love, eagerly and joyfully anticipating good things around each corner. Hope is like a resurrection of the heart of love, springing to life. Keep looking up, and a parents will find that their hope will be a springboard for love and faith.
The Foundation of Hope. All this talk of hope begs the question… What is a parent’s hope based on? What allows parents to hope in the first place? What is the basis of all this hope? Is there a way to keep hope from becoming merely wishful thinking or an empty optimism? Yes, there is only one reason anyone can hope realistically, one solid permanent thing on which to base hope, and that foundation of hope is the mercy of almighty God.
Crowder – All My Hope ft. Tauren Wells
God’s Character. How did God choose to describe Himself when asked His name by Moses in Exodus 34? What did God choose to reveal about Himself? He said, “I am the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and faithfulness, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” And that’s why rabbinic tradition says that mercy rather than justice is regarded as the outstanding attribute of God (A.J. Heschel). Indeed, Jesus, the human form of this same God, comes to us “full of grace and truth.” (John 1). Jesus is Yahweh in the flesh, mercy with skin on.
The One Sure Thing. When parents can trust God for the future, they can hope with confidence. When they can trust the character of God, then can keep looking up with joy. When a parent, or anyone else, knows that a merciful God has promised to have your back, then parents are free to love each other through all the ups and downs of home life. In fact, there is nothing more trustworthy than God’s love, and so that is the one sure foundation for marriage and home together. Every parent can take this to the bank: “Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed. For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The Lord is all I have, therefore I will hope in Him.” (Lamentations 3:22-24).
A Hopeful Future. Based on God’s love for each parent and child, there is another promise from Him to help every parent to keep looking up with hopefulness. It’s found in Jeremiah 29:11, and provides a hopeful vision we all need as we raise our children at home: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. You will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. And I will be found by you, declares the Lord.”
A Blessing of Hope. Here’s a prayer that could be inscribed on the doorpost of every home, a blessing from Psalm 33. This psalm states that the whole earth is full of God’s unfailing love, and that the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, His mercy. Psalm 33 closes with these monumental words: “May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” Everything else fails, only His love is unfailing. Only His mercy is left standing. Only His grace is worthy of our trust. Only God’s character will enable every parent to keep looking up.
“All you who hope in the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage, for with the Lord there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption. God has a thousand ways to set us free. This hope will not let us down or put us to shame, because the love of God has already been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. So my heart is glad and my spirit rejoices, my body also will rest in hope.” (Ps. 31:24; Ps. 130:7; Romans 5:5; Ps. 16:9).
My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less (Live)