Hope is a Theological Virtue

Paul makes this important statement in one of his letters, “our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:21). Eagerly waiting for Christ is one element of the Christian life and vocation. He sums this up in his letter to Corinth as he describes them as those “awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:7).

In another letter, he states, “for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. It trains us to renounce ungodly living and worldly passions so that we might live sensible, honest, and godly lives in the present age as we wait for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah” (Titus 2:11-13).

1 Thessalonians 1:10 tells us that we were rescued “to wait for his Son from heaven.” Jude 1:21 tells us that we should be “waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.” Romans 8:23 utilizes similar language: “waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons.” 2 Peter 3:12 adds another dimension, “looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.”

As C.S. Lewis says, “Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.”