The Blessed Hope

By James H. McConkey

    The Word of God calls the hope of the Lord’s return a "blessed hope" (Titus 2:13). That is a "happy" hope, as the word literally means. It brings joy to the heart of the believer. It gladdens the soul of him who cherishes it. There is no truer optimist than the man who is looking for His Lord to come.

    True, this man as none else realizes that dark and perilous times are coming. God’s Word warns him there are breakers ahead for this old world of ours. He knows the Bible’s statement about it is not that it is growing better, but that "the whole world lieth in the evil one" (1 John 5:19), and is rapidly nearing the fiercest crisis of all its history.

    But none of these things move him. Being forewarned he is forearmed. And being forearmed, he knows no discouragement because of conditions or circumstances, for back of all the somber shadows of coming days, looms up the glorious figure of His coming Lord and King, whose victory is as certain as the eternal Word of God can declare, and the eternal love of God bring to pass.

    His hope is therefore indeed a blessed hope. It is sure and steadfast. It steadies his heart amid the most trying and desperate circumstances. It inspires him to service, too, with new zeal and fidelity. It stimulates to fervent zeal and earnestness for lost souls as they who cherish it do well know. Almost to a man, the great evangelists and soul-winners of past years, such as Spurgeon, Moody, Chapman, Torrey, Sunday, Whittle – all have cherished with warm and earnest hearts the hope of the coming again of their Lord. The greatest Bible teachers this country has ever seen were given up wholly and fervently to this truth.

    And not only these, but thousands of God’s messengers in the mission field testify to it as one of the mighty inspirations of their lives to eager, incessant service.

    – From The Blessed Hope.