Drawn to Hope

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” 1 Peter 3:15 

In Acts 19 there is a story about the seven sons of Sceva, a leading Jewish priest. They had been traveling from town to town, casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and wounded. The demon was able to overpower the seven sons of Sceva because they did not have a personal relationship with Jesus as Paul did. 

I grew up in church culture. My family attended regularly. We went to Sunday school and church camp. I sang in the choir and was part of the youth group, but like the seven sons of Sceva, I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus. 

It wasn’t until I was 23 years old that I came to know Jesus in a personal way. Not long after that experience, I saw one of my old friends. After a few minutes of catching up, she looked at me and said, “I don’t know what it is you have, but whatever it is, I need that in my life.” It was the perfect opportunity to share with her my hope as a new believer in Christ. 

We should live our lives in such a way that our hope can be seen by others. When people ask what it is that’s different about us, we should always be ready to direct them to Jesus. Live your life in such a way that people will see your hope and be drawn to the reason for it.