We have all heard the idiomatic admonition against, “Putting all of your eggs into one basket.” In essence, this phrase reminds us not to put all of our hope into only one thing. To be sure, this is wise advice when it comes to our time, talent, and treasure. It is always best to store our “eggs” in a variety of different baskets, just in case something happens to our basket. Pinning all of our hopes on one thing and seeing that one thing fail leads to a place of despair. No more basket. No more eggs.
As good as this phrase is in matters of time, talent, and treasure, it is NOT good advice when it comes to matters of faith. There is only one hope in both life and death…there is only one reliable object on which to place your faith…and His name is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only solid Rock upon which hope can ever stand. Make no mistake, all other “hopeful” ground is sinking sand.
When our hope is Christ-centered we no longer have to base our existence on pretending or performing. In 1 Peter 3:15 we read, “But set apart Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you…”.
Apart from Christ, life is utterly hopeless. We wander through a never-ending maze of manipulation, pretending and performing our way into God’s approval and acceptance and the applause of man. When our hope is in anything smaller than God, we shrink the size of our lives down to the size of our lives. And we were created to live for so much more than ourselves. Our lives are to be shaped by the hope we have in Jesus. In a word, this is hope for the hopeless.
- The hope of His presence is to shape our lives
- The hope of His peace is to shape our lives
- The hope of His protection
- The hope of His provision is to shape our lives
- The hope of His punishment
Only when our hope is in Jesus Christ are we liberated from the bondage of self-protection, self-focus, and self-centeredness. The Gospel frees us to shift our hope from the self to the Savior…from self-rule to Savior-rule. When the Savior is sitting on the throne of our lives, our hearts are captured and compelled to seek out the only hope we will ever have in both life and death.
Isaiah put it this way in the 18th verse of the very first chapter, “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” This is a holy hope that can only be found in Jesus and it is a hope that sings, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” That was our punishment He nailed to that dirty tree. He who knew no sin, became sin for us. Have you put all of your “eggs” into this one basket of unimaginable blessings? This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!
Grace for the Race 