In His Likeness w/ AntTBri

“For this is the way the holy women of past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves…” 1 Peter 3:5 (NIV)

Hope in God enhaces the quality of one’s life and love. The person who hopes in God radiates an unfading inner beauty. There is a gentleness, an unusual calmness in the manner in which they look, live and love that is holy and pure. Hope full people win us over without words. They win us over by their lifestyle of living and loving by/in the Word, way and works of God.

Hope gets, gathers and garrisons our attention. We notice in particular people who live and love differently. We wonder what makes them live and love believing in a God they cannot visibly see. What exactly gives them the ability to trust and maintain confidence that the God plan, purpose and promise of life and love will manifest? We watch and note the definable difference in their way and the way we would or others live and love. It’s a rare occurence, strange, not natural, opposite status quo, it goes against the grain, is not common practice, it seems crazy, like a life and love based upon blind faith or fantasy.  Could the emphasis be on believing in and for what God said irregardless of current manifestations? “Now faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about we do not see” (Hebrews 11: 1 NIV) Could it be a life and love full of hope in God entails conflicts, controversies and challenges that are resolved in time? Now, implies after awhile, after this/that, after every reason not to or right this moment my confidence and assurance is in my hope in God. People of old understood perseverance,  persistence and proactive faith.  We don’t talk, teach or train enough on the blessing, benefit or beauty of hope. Many of us avoid the topic because our humanity cannot resolve how it is possible to look, live and love God dependent adorned in hope.  1 Peter 3 educates, encourages and edifies the believing by highlighting the heart posture of persons desiring to live and love God, themselves and others correctly. It speaks to our fear of being duped, suffering in vain, being taken advantaged of, giving up our “right” for the wrong of life and love outside of God (relationally).  It helps us understand that hope in God is the anchor of submission.  In submitting to God we grow into submitting to the process of life and love with each other. 1 Peter 3 is the how to manual of living and loving full of hope. We’re instructed how wives are to submit to husbands and how husbands are to submit to wives…both postures do so as unto the Lord.  It serves as a working model for all relationships.  We observe that submission to God helps us relationally.

Because we hope in God we live and love within the context of honor. We live and we love honoring God, ourselves and others. We live and we love esteeming His word over our opinions, feelings, and desires.  We live and we love esteeming the needs of others.  Respecting their right of choice minus our manipulation, insistence and attempts to change their minds and hearts to match/mirror ours. We honor God by allowing Him the final say over life and love (ours and others). Hope infuses love.  Persons full of hope trust in the God outcome for life and love. We trust they will come to choose hope in God on their own accord. We live and love free in our experience and expression of love and await the moment of their now.  Hope gathers us. Maintaing that life and love will line up, come into agreement, align itself to the plan, purpose, promise and power of God for life and love. We live and we love submitted to His word, way, and work. This hope garrisons life in love. It secures and safeguards life and love within the auspices of God’s will. Persons full of hope live and love Believing, trusting, EXPECTING, relying on God’s Word, way and works. Full of hope means you live and love for fulfillment. Hope in God is a inner code observance that has absolutely nothing to do with cognitive or common sense. It is founded in the reality of relationship. Persons having a living, loving and lasting relationship with the risen Savior Jesus Christ look, live and love adorned in hope. Hope is what we do it is who we are and those persons connected to us watch, witness and our won over by our consistency of hope.

Persons adorned in hope can win love ones to Christ. We can help the unbelieving husband, wife, father, mother, brother and sister come to believe. Imagine that, God using you, the manner in which you live and love to inspire, invoke and invite the hopeless to hope. Can we really live and love the unbelieving without punishing them or proving that we are better than them because we have grown to believe?  Is it possible to love when there is no agreement?  Hope suggest so. Hope says you that are in the now submit to God’s authority. Trust that He will do the work of life and love. Hope says shift your focus off what s/he is saying and doing and look, live, love to prove God’s word is true.  Hope in God keeps our hearts humble before Him. We look, live and we love God dependent.  God if you don’t do it in, with and through me, my love ones it won’t and can’t be done. God you are my hope.  It is in you, your way, your Word, your works I continually hope.

Do we really live and love among the hopeless? Is that the believing’s plight? Should you and I look, live, and love DIFFERENTLY? Is there a more noble aspiration as weclive and love? It makes one wonder if this is the emphasis that should be placed upon relationship. Does our connection to others bring them to new levels of hope in God? Is there a such thing as dimensional hope? Are there stages or levels of hope? Do we display or demonstrate these levels of hope? Can we or should we live and love adorned in hope. Are we full of hope in God? Does that hope extend to every area of our lives and loves? Are we full of hopeful experiences and expressions? Does hope in God allow us to live and love as if it is is already so?

Hope thou in God has to be more than our verbal declaration it must become a visible display or demonstration in how we look, live and love. It is my prayer that hope adorns us beautifully enabling us to be a blessing so others will benefit from our living and loving~AntTBri