HOPE IN THE PRESENT LIFE
That which a man ardently hopes for he strives to realize. If he
desires fame, office or wealth he will seek to set forces in motion,
here and now, which will bring him that which his soul covets. Back of
every man's striving there is always some hope, an ideal, which he
endeavours to make a reality.
The man who enthusiastically believes in Jesus Christ cherishes the
hope that every man may be brought to believe in his Lord and Master
(Acts 26:27-29). He wants to see Christ not only rule and reign in the
life to come, but in this present life.
The urgency of the New Testament appeals to men is to, at once,
believe in Jesus Christ, and to begin to live the Christian life (Acts
16:31-33; 2 Corinthians 6:1-10; Galatians 2:20). The attempt was made
by the early preachers of Christianity to bring about upon the earth a
new order of things. They prayed and laboured for the immediate
conversion of men's souls and the betterment of the conditions under
which men lived. A new kingdom (Matthew 10:32-42; Mark 1:14,15) was
inaugurated with new ideals (Matthew 5:1-16), new principles and new
aspirations, which was to supersede the old social and political
orders. It was the preaching of this kingdom of Christ, and that men
owed their first allegiance to it (Acts 5:28,29), which provoked the
terrible persecutions of the first centuries.
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