Why Christians Have Hope

When the daughter of a friend of mine died unexpectedly I told him that he would have a lot of questions and struggles. One of those struggles would be the thought that he would never see her again.

“Yeah, I was just thinking that,” he said. “And I was thinking I’ll never hear her voice again.”

“I want you to know it isn’t true,” I said. “You will see her again. You will hear her voice again. You will be with her again in the resurrection.”

This is God’s promise for all of us. And this is why we have hope as Christians. Everything doesn’t end when we leave this earth.

When Lazarus died, Jesus said to his sister Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25–26 NKJV).

In other words, “Martha, listen, death is not the end.” We should live on promises not explanations, and we shouldn’t spend too much time asking why. There’s nothing wrong with asking God why, of course. But, just don’t necessarily expect an answer.

God says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways. . . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9 NKJV).

Yes, our physical lives will end one day. But each of us is a soul in a body, and we’ll live on in eternity. And according to the Bible, one day Heaven will come down to earth. Heaven and earth will become one.

God has a future and a hope for every one of His followers. That is why, in a seemingly hopeless world, we can have hope.