No God = No Hope
Bible Reading: Ephesians 2:1-5, 11-13
In the novel, “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., an important book comes to light. It is entitled, “What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?” The chief character in his book is anxious to read it, but when he does, he finds it doesn’t take long. The whole book consists of one word, “Nothing.” Apart from God there would be no good reason or legitimate basis for a certain hope (Ephesians 2:12).
Such was our previous estate, before we came to know Jesus and is the present estate of every lost person. Without God, we had no good reason to be hopeful. Apart from God neither does anyone else! Wait, you might argue, I’ve got unbelieving friends who seem to be pretty hopeful folks, what about them? Though they might put on a good show, they’ve no reason to think about their future with a confident expectation of a good result.
These people may live with a relative degree of prosperity now, having good health and a comfortable income, but unless a person knows God, they’ve no right to claim His promises. There is no guarantee any of the things they now possess will continue to be theirs. Countless things often work to change everything in anyone’s life. Such events can happen in an instant. Even if their prosperity continues, they’ve no guarantee they’ll be in any condition to enjoy it. Howard Hughes was regarded as one of the most influential and financially successful individuals in the world, yet in his later years he became no more than an eccentric recluse.
Without God, a person has no guarantee of continued life. When we are young we tend to think our lives will go on indefinitely, but then we grow older and know better. Every step we take is one more step on a march to the grave. Believers need not fear death because in Christ they’ve received the promise of heaven. Sadly the lost person has no hope beyond the grave. And what is even worse is there’ll be no second chance after death, to trust in Jesus. There’ll be no glad reunion with family and friends who’ve gone on before. A cold and dark and pain filled Christless eternity awaits those who refuse the gospel. The person without God has no good reason to be hopeful with a confident expectation regarding his, or her future. No hope for today. No hope for tomorrow. No hope in life. No hope in death!
Somewhere amongst all my books I’ve got one entitled, “Last Words of Saints and Sinners.” The book is a compilation of the contrasting last words of those who had faith in Jesus vs. those who didn’t. People who knew God faced death with hopeful assurance. Those facing death without God encounter death with fearful apprehension. I’ve personally witnessed both responses. But You, dear ones, have been saved by grace. You once were far off and without hope, but now you’ve “been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Now You’ve good reason in Jesus to be full of hope, both in this life and regarding the life to come! You have a supernatural message of hope to share with those who desperately need to hear!
No God = No Hope; Know God = Know and Possess Hope
Heavenly Father. We remember the way things were when we were without You and without hope in this world. Thank You for intervening in our lives, making known to us the good news of hope regarding Your Son! How blessed we now are to be Your children. We’ve good reason in You to be ever hopeful. We pray for those who don’t know You and are now living without hope. Convict them of their sin and open their blinded eyes to the truth about Jesus, that they might be saved–that they might be born again to the living hope!
