Agape Love - Always Hopes

My husband and I are football people. We love to get home from church, plop on the couch together and turn on whatever game we can get on our 3 stations. We challenge each other in fantasy football, along with other friends and family members. One hangup in our marriage, however, is that he is a Green Bay Packers fan...and I'm a Chicago Bears Fan. We live in Michigan (so we needed good teams to route for...) One thing that I've always thought was interesting was that even if my husband's team is behind in the fourth quarter, he still watches, and hopes, and says "they could still pull it out." While I usually taunt him and roll my eyes, it is something I've always admired and considered as evidence of his loyalty to his team. I think the same goes for agape love.

One thing I have come to learn over the past few years is that nothing can rob me of the hope I have in what will matter most in 100 years. Circumstances can really drain. Don't get me wrong - I am one of the worst worriers I know. I worry about tomorrow way more than I should, but when push comes to shove, I know that I could literally lose everything I have on this earth, and it won't change what I will have when I'm no longer on this earth. There is something much greater, more eternal, and more dependable than anything this world has to offer...because of love. Love gave me this hope. Love created the way for me to throw away the worries and know I'm secure for eternity.

Love always hopes, because we can't help but hope for a positive outcome for those we love. What if we started hoping for a positive outcome for all that we encountered though? Even the people we may not know, or those we may not even like? Not only would our hope change the way we think about people, it may even change our hearts towards people. Hope has the ability to leave a legacy.

We read countless accounts in scripture where people hoped. They hoped for a child. They hoped for a promised land. They hoped for a Messiah. We also read that in one way or another, God showed up. He always shows up, either filling our hopes, or making an impact even deeper than our hopes. The legacies left and the love that prevailed because of hope carries with us even to this day.

Gideon was no exception. He was hiding in the bottom of a wine press when God sound him and told him that he would be sent to save Israel from the Midianites. Gideon argues, claiming his clan is the weakest. In fact, Gideon is so unconvinced that he tells God to convince him, more than once. And when Gideon if finally on board, God takes the tiniest army surrounding Gideon of 300 and defeats a Midianite camp with 135,000! (Judges 6-7) There is hope if you feel weak. There is hope if you feel defeated. There is hope when you feel at a dead end. God will provide a way. Just have hope.

No matter how dark and unknown life gets, the position of hope will not only carry you through those situations, but it will leave a lasting ripple in your heart and for others who are in similar dark, unknown hallways of life. Your hopeful attitude is one that could change someone's mind, someone's heart, someone's view of faith. God can shine through you if you allow Him. Give Him the credit for your the hope you have in all times and in all circumstances. That is a type of love that has incredible value for now and eternity.

Scripture to Read:
Judges 6-7, 1 Corinthians 13:13

Questions to Ponder:
Why do faith, hope and love go together? Why is love the greatest?
When has been a time you felt completely hopeless? What has that shown you about getting through the next hard time?
How does hope look beyond a circumstance?