Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

There are many things we might imagine when we say, “I cannot imagine anything worse than…” yet it can be said with confidence that nothing is worse than living, grieving, and dying without hope. When men live without hope they make perilous and erratic choices. When they grieve without hope they search for comfort in places that cannot sustain them. When they face death without hope they cling desperately to whatever promise might quiet the fear that rises within them.

Many attempt to soothe their own hearts with false hope. They look for comfort in bottomless pleasure, in distraction, or in the vanity of their own thoughts. Yet these are only futile attempts to silence a truth that continually confronts them. Man grasps for anything that will quiet the knowledge that death stands before him and that he cannot overcome it.

There is hope in life, in grief, and even in death, but there is only one true hope. That hope is not found in a bottle, in a sunset, or in one final attempt at romance that promises meaning but cannot sustain it. Hope is found in a Person and in the work that only He could accomplish on behalf of sinners such as you and me. Christ alone is the hope of the world. Christ alone is the hope of every lost soul.

Hope is not that men will avoid death. Hope is not that they will grow old beside those they love. Hope is not that they will gain success, security, or promotion. A man may obtain all these things and still die without hope. Hope is Christ.

Some men live surrounded by pleasure and never experience the grief that others carry daily. Yet such a man may die without hope. Another man may live his entire life under the heavy weight of sorrow and also die without hope. Yet there are those who live with hope even in the midst of grief. By the grace of God they carry a sorrow that is real and often deep, especially when they remember those who died without Christ. At the same time they cling to the promise that all who die in Christ will be raised to life in Him.

Our hope is not that all who die will be raised to life in Christ. When men speak this way they comfort themselves with false assurances and proclaim a false and fatal gospel. The resurrection unto life belongs only to those who are united to Christ. Yet when truth prevails even over our deepest grief, love compels us to proclaim the Gospel that alone has the power to save.

Our greatest concern is not that men feel comfortable or live happily for a time. Our greatest concern is that they know Christ. He alone is the true hope of every man who hears the Gospel and responds in repentance and faith through the regenerating work of God. Once dead in sin, the sinner is made alive in Christ and given the hope that death itself cannot destroy.

There is no hope in life or death apart from Christ alone. You may comfort a man with lies for a moment, but only Christ can give him true hope. If you would give men hope then proclaim Christ and pray to the God who is sovereign in salvation. Ask Him to grant grace, life, and salvation to those who hear.

Their grief may not disappear entirely, yet those who know Christ are able to live truly when He is their hope and salvation. Many men grieve. Many men live. Many live, grieve, and die without hope. The grave itself does not grant eternal life. The Gospel is for today because men who live today will soon die just as they have lived, either with Christ or without Him.

Tell them the truth and leave the results to God. Do not be cold, callous, or indifferent. We cannot save anyone, but we must examine ourselves if our hearts grow silent in the proclamation of the Gospel. A man who truly knows the hope that is in Christ cannot remain unmoved when others live without it.

The man who believes he must compromise the Gospel in order to win someone reveals that he has little confidence in the power of God to save. He has forgotten the efficacy of Christ’s work, the power of the Spirit who applies it, and the sufficiency of the message God has entrusted to His people. Obedience requires faith in the God who saves and faithfulness in proclaiming the Gospel He has given.

Sometimes a believer’s love grows cold because he has looked too long at the wickedness of men and too little at the glory of God. When this happens his faith weakens and his hope grows dim. The problem is not with God and it is not with His Gospel. The problem lies within the one who has lost sight of Him.

Look again to Christ and fix your gaze upon Him. Do not allow your love to grow cold, your faith to wither, or your hope to sink in discouragement. When we lose sight of Christ we place ourselves in a far more dangerous condition than those who simply reject the message we proclaim.

Return and look again to Him. In Christ alone are found your hope, your love, your strength, and your life. Go forward not in your own strength but in the strength that He provides, trusting the God who saves and proclaiming the Gospel He has entrusted to you.

Grace be with you.