1. David said that if we delight ourselves in the Lord He will give us the desires of our hearts. Why do most Christians admit they desire the salvation of all?
2. If God says “love hopes all things” and that “hope deferred makes the heart sick” then why do we assume this hope that God will indeed redeem all and truly reconcile everything to Himself is unfounded? Why do we often use language more hopeful than we are allowed to believe?
3. Why do our hearts soar when we read or hear passages like these? Do you HOPE they mean what they appear to mean? Do you wish they were true?
“On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken. (Isa. 25:6-8)
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Hab. 2:14)
4. Why do we recite the end of epic stories like, “… everything sad is going to come untrue” and do not feel compelled to correct or qualify but let the hope remain to tantalize our hearts? (Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
5. If God says that He is going to do “exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or imagine” then how come with the traditional teaching in place we secretly wish and imagine more?
6. When God tells us to “give an answer for the hope that is within you” is He referring to just our own personal hope for our own souls? Also where Paul says “we are not of those who have no hope” is he saying our hope does not extend beyond who we know for certain will be saved from an eternal hell? Does this not seem self-centered and an unlikely understanding of what is being referred to here as “hope”? Is He not called the “God of Hope” and the “Hope of the Nations”?