Paul describes the spiritual condition of the unbeliever as “having no hope and without God in the world.” (Eph. 2:12). A person can be religious but if Jesus Christ is not his Lord and Savior, the Bible still considers him as lost. Yet, as a Christian, you may not enjoy socio-political privileges as an effect of your commitment to Christ. You understand that your relationship to Jesus will not make you popular in the world. It does not promise you earthly wealth, power, and influence. At the same time, the world sees your faith as a handicap and hindrance to play with the world, in its terms and offer. The Bible is not a popular book in the world as their value-system. They don’t want to read it. People usually think that the teachings of the Bible will make them weak and weird. Of course, this perspective and attitude is because of unbelief. But to a Christian who embraces the truth of the Gospel, he believes that the presence of Christ in the heart is “the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27). He knows that true and lasting advantage is the eternal security of the soul. Moreover, when he reads the Bible, he also sees the surety of the spiritual blessings that the Lord has stored for him in glory (Eph. 1:3). St. Paul said,
“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4)
Bible reading and meditation open our eyes to future reality. Its testimony of God’s power and goodness in the history and experience of God’s people throughout generations gives us assurance that God will never fail us. It is for this reason that as we read the Scriptures we need to pray like Paul. We need to ask God to illumine the eyes of our heart,
“...so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” (Eph. 1:18).
When our affection is firmly attached to our glorious hope, materialism and worldliness cannot set their foothold on our lives. Therefore, Bible study is crucial to maintain our focus to our glorious future.
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