Dear Redeeming Grace,

Last week we thought about putting on gospel hope. As I've continued to meditate on this, I'm seeing more that hope grows out of what we set our mind and heart on. If we tend to a tree and what it needs, the fruit will grow. And hope is like a fruit that gets sweeter as it's nurtured.

If we are to have this joyful anticipation of hope, we have to keep looking ahead to what stirs and nourishes that hope. In other words, we should spend time thinking about all that it means in Romans 5:2 to hope in the glory of God. We thought some about that last week. It's the hope of being glorified along with the creation, but even more, it's the reality of one day seeing the glory of Jesus Himself.

Meditating on our future with Christ is tending the soil where hope will grow. And spending time there will affect our days and weeks in the present too.

So keep grounding your hope in what Jesus has already done for you through his death and resurrection. And keep fixing your eyes and your heart on what awaits you.