Cultural vs grace driven Christians

Broadly speaking there are two kinds of "Christianity" in ¹America:

1.  Cultural Christianity (the majority)

2.  Grace-driven followers of Christ

The first is more of a worldview. The second is a relationship with God or state of being if you will. 

A. Cultural Christianity acknowledges certain fundamental truths of the Christian faith. Some of the most basic and common elements in contrast with a secular worldview are...

·      Man has the capacity for good but is naturally inclined toward selfishness i.e. corrupt by nature.

·     There are moral absolutes and values i.e. objectively there is right and wrong, and these don’t change i.e. they are absolutes.

·      Mankind should be and will be held accountable by His Creator (God) for his choices and actions if not in this life, the next.

These are very important and distinct from a non-Christian worldview, which generally asserts or assumes three contrary beliefs...

·      Mankind is basically good and corrupted by his environment - i.e., from without vs within.

·      Morality is relative and subjective. We have our own truth. What is right for you is not necessarily right for me or others. There are no absolutes -- a key tenet of postmodernism.

·      This life is all there is, so eat, drink, and be merry, i.e. make the most of it... if it feels good, do it, and the like.  

Prior to postmodernism, a cultural Christian worldview was common among the majority of Americans - particularly after the 1st Great Awakening from the early 1730s on - though it has slowly declined from when it was a majority-held view in America (not only among the general population but, to a great extent, among institutional heads and centers of influence) up until the 1960s. Since Postmodernism, the contrast between a Christian and non-Christian worldview has become more pronounced and clear. 

The fundamental differences of cultural Christianity are very significant when compared to a non-Christian worldview and, for this reason alone, are important. So I do not want to dismiss its significance entirely. As a result, how a cultural Christian approaches life is very different compared to a nonbeliever. Holding these different views is not insignificant. 

B. Grace-driven Christianity is rooted in the good news that God did all that was needed to restore us to himself and free us from our inclination to serve ourselves. He did this because we could not free ourselves. It agrees with and holds to the same fundamental truths/values as the Cultural Christian, but goes beyond these i.e. these cultural aspects will still be a key part of a grace-driven Christian's worldview but is not the essence of what defines or drives them to action. To say it another way, their worldview influences their approach to the world but does not alone or in itself empower them to rightly act, i.e. for the glory of God. Only the Spirit of God via the grace of God extended to us in and through the gospel can empower us to live for God, not simply willing ourselves to. 

The distinction between cultural and grace-driven Christians is important for two reasons:

1.  Non-Christians do not understand this difference (because they have not partaken of and experienced the power of grace and God's perfect forgiveness) and therefore lump these different "kinds" of Christians into the same group. 

     Does this matter? Many attitudes and approaches to various cultural issues can be very ³different between cultural and grace-driven Christians. As a result, grace-driven Christians are attributed certain views and attitudes the cultural Christian holds which they don’t necessarily agree with. For these reasons, these two approaches may look and sound the same on the surface to a non-Christian (and on the surface, they are in fact similar) but they are driven by a very different reason-motive. 

2. Those who adhere only to cultural Christianity do not necessarily understand or agree with the message of grace and may in fact be Christian only culturally in how they view the world (the first 3 bullet points above). They are not, in fact, true followers of Jesus as the bible defines it, i.e. they may not be true believers when it comes to the central message of Christianity — the gospel of grace.

So the differences are not immediately apparent on the surface to a nonbeliever (or even necessary to those who claim to be Christians - what I am ⁴calling a cultural Christian). It’s not until you look “under the hood” that you see the difference that drives these externally similar yet very different flavors of Christianity. 

So, is cultural Christianity truly Christian? Yes, in so far as it adheres to these fundamental principles but not in so far as one's relationship with and posture toward God. As his child, our relationship with God is solely based on God’s work in and through Christ, not our work or views. There are many within and without the Church who are cultural Christians i.e. Christian in name only. 

To say it another way, the views of a Cultural Christian may be aligned with the Bible and in that sense are Christian, but this alone does not make one a true believer (a follower/disciple of Jesus) as defined by scripture. The Bible is clear that one’s standing before God is based on the good news (gospel) of grace (the work of Christ on our behalf) and accepting God's offer of righteousness earned by Christ, not in trying to adhere to a certain worldview or moral values or even being able to explain the gospel. I have known several nonbelievers who can explain the gospel well and who professed to be a Christian but never expressed true affection for God. I also know those who claimed to be a believer but later professed true faith, acknowledging they never understood grace or had genuine saving faith before then. 

For a grace-driven Christian, these same views held by cultural Christians are also adhered to but are the fruit of their relationship with God, not the grounds or cause of it. It is only by grace we are restored to a right standing and heartfelt relationship with God and not believing certain things taught in the Bible or about God. As James says, demons believe in God and tremble... but they're still demons. 

For a discussion on why there are hypocrites in the church click here. 

For a discussion on the church's tendency to legalistic morality, click here. 

For a discussion on the difference between the gospel and religion click here. 

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¹and elsewhere though this appears to be more common in the western church and particularly in America. 

²there can be some blending of worldviews between cultural Christians and nonbelievers but generally, if someone adheres to one of the distinguishing fundamentals of a cultural Christian worldview, they tend to adhere to all of them i.e. they all tend to hang together or not at all.

³"Cultural Christians" tend to be more rigid and unyielding in their approach to life. Their emphasis is more about being right than caring i.e. loving your neighbor. Grace-driven Christians tend to be more patient, understanding, and loving (though not automatically). To say it another way they bear the fruit of the Spirit. Like their Lord, they operate by grace and truth, and in that order. They understand the key essence of how we live is based on loving God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves i.e. truth is vital but love - is the primary driving force of their lives. They also understand to love God with all our heart... we must first know the love of God personally -- our love for Him and obedience to him is a response to His love for us. For more on this click here and here. Of course, there are always exceptions among any of these various groups. 

⁴I make this distinction based on my own experience not theory. What do I mean? I used to be a cultural Christian to a great extent up until around 1998 (I came to Christ in 1971). And this was after I had gone to Bible College and been involved in lay ministry for several years. I have found there is a huge difference between being able to articulate the gospel message (which I could do well) and actually experiencing grace. I think I genuinely knew Christ before then but it was far more in my head than my heart. I have concluded there are many (maybe most) within the church today that are like I was rather than how I am now. I think many of those folks are truly Christians as the Bible defines it, but I have observed many who may not be. Only God knows their hearts we do not. Christ did say however by their fruits you will know them. Loving God and our neighbor is the greatest evidence and fruit of grace (Spirit) driven followers of Christ; not how we feel or how much we know but much do our words and 

honor God and advance His kingdom and not our own. 

We know Christ said he will separate the wheat from the weeds one day (i.e. they both exist within the church and will until Christ returns) and it is not our job to do so or decide who is and isn't a true follower of Christ, but for now, they are mixed together. To hear the words "depart from me, I never knew you" by someone who has done "many wonderful works" in God's name is a scary consideration. One we should all examine our hearts carefully over. 

Evil and good both display something about God

¹Both the depth of evil actions or height of great (good) achievement displays the greatness of God. 

How? The void within that drives those to great harm (evil) or ²"great good" is so vast, what is required to fill it must be equally vast i.e. the greatness of the void that drives them is because of the greatness of God. To say it another way, our capacity for God is such that the void left by His ³absence is in proportion to His greatness, i.e. the greater the object, the greater the hole (void) left by its absence. The greater the hole, the greater the vacuum it creates and energy/action required to fill it; energy used both to inflict great harm or achieve ²"great good." As a result, ⁴the most gifted are able to go to great extremes - both good or bad - in an attempt to fill it.

Our desire for meaning, purpose, and value is insatiable - i.e. infinite - resulting in extreme behavior.  Regardless, lasting meaning and purpose can only be filled by the infinite, i.e. something infinitely great, not something temporary.

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¹What I am addressing is extreme effort and results are the fruit of exceptional ability coupled with an extreme desire for greatness, power, achievement, etc. Good and evil come from the same place with rare exceptions (see the next footnote for the exception). What many call good is driven by the same void; the same absence of God that drives evil conduct. It may be "good" on the surface, but it still comes from a need to fill a void, not the result of being full and overflowing in goodness to others. 

²Not all "good" actions are driven by the absence of God and the need to fill the void created by that absence. Some people are driven truly to give, not get-take. But they are those rare, "sold out" believers and followers of Jesus who are so captured by His love, they do all things for His honor and often do so unsung, because the good they do is to bring glory to God out of love for him and others, not to obtain (or seek) fame and the praise of others. The world could care less about God's glory and therefore about these worshipers of God. In fact, they are often ridiculed as foolish for being so "God-obsessed." 

And how is it possible to do things solely for God's glory? Because of Christ, God - in the vastness of His infinite love - is present again (as originally intended) via His Spirit where the void used to be. And once He is, it is for us to believe this with every fiber of our being and all the implications of His being present. 

³this absence is not due to God being unavailable but to our rebellious refusal to recognize it is He alone who must fill the void, resulting in our looking only to him to do so.

⁴the drive of those who are able to accomplish the greatest harm or good is coupled with great abilities as well. We all are driven to fill the void left by God's absence (simply stated, we were not designed to be empty. Vacuums are not normal but evidence of something absent). However, only a few are skilled enough to have a more significant impact than most i.e. only a few have the abilities to carry out great harm or "good" because of the great gifts/skills they have been given and use for their own ends, not God's. 

I am also addressing "good" as defined by the world; those highly "successful" in their field of endeavor, "superstars" such as high-profile entertainers, actors, artists, musicians, athletes, business tycoons, etc. These are individuals who have an impact in their particular field of endeavor (for good or harm), and leave a clear and significant mark on history. In fact, it is the desire to leave this mark that often drives them i.e. they are driven by the desire for their own fame and glory, not God's. 

I would add all of us are driven in the same way without the love of Christ moving us to action i.e. absent God's love, we are driven to fill the void of God's absence. The difference I am addressing is some have a greater skill set, be it temperament, natural abilities (musical, athletic, verbal, creative, intellectual, etc), and such, and can therefore have a greater-more significant impact on the world than others. 

great effort or great faith...opposites?

The question isn't whether diligent effort brings great results; it is what drives our effort i.e. why do we act. Do we act for God's honor or our own? 

Great results never come without great effort...ever, regardless of the motive.

¹Truly great results (i.e. a God-honoring outcome) is not a question of effort, but whether those efforts are driven ²"by the flesh" or "by the Spirit." What determines if results are ¹truly great is if and when they are driven by the love of God. 

Being a believer does not mean we are to be passive in general but passive only in independent effort  i.e. in efforts driven ²"by the flesh."

A desire to give great honor to God is the motive for ¹truly great efforts. These efforts are driven by the Spirit and never happen without great humility and trust in God. 

Great humility and trust produce ¹truly great effort which produces great results/fruit. This is to operate "by the Spirit." 

We are to be active and fruitful. Active in our trust, dependence, and obedience to God which always brings results i.e. fruit. As scripture says, "the just shall live by faith." Great faith always results in great effort, action, obedience.

But it all starts with God and is driven by him (i.e. in and by his Spirit of endless love). This starts with God being for us. How? The more we behold the love of God (the only source of life, love, and all things), the greater our trust and dependence on God grows. The greater our trust the greater our obedience. The greater our obedience (action), the greater the results. 

2Co 9:6  The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 

John 15:8  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 

John 15:16  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 

Psa 127:1  ... Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2  It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. 

John 14:15  "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 

John 14:21  Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." 

John 15:10  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 

2Jn 1:6  And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning so that you should walk in it. 

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¹I am using "truly" great effort in contrast to just hard work i.e. there is hard work and then there is hard work driven by trust in God. By "truly" great effort I mean the later. 

²For a fuller discussion of what it means to live by the Spirit or by the flesh click here. 

For a fuller discussion on the importance of excellence, click here. 

Spirit driven

How do we know if a deed is Spirit driven/empowered? 

If it is done to bring honor (glory) to God out of love for and trust in God, i.e. it is a deed that is from Him, through Him, and to Him. It is a Spirit driven response to God's first treating us with love, honor, and value by sending His Son to restore us to the Source (Father) of love i.e. it is driven by our love for Him as a response to His love for us.

Operating in the Spirit is the interaction (reciprocation) between the ¹Source of love and the recipient (us). God - the ¹source - is lovely and trustworthy (and has already fully proven his love in giving us Christ). His great love poured out on us in and through Christ (without our doing anything to provoke/cause it), awoke our hearts to His love, calling (wooing) us to love, trust and follow him in response. Obedience is the fruit of God's love poured out on us through Christ in, by, and through the Spirit of reciprocal love between the Father and Son.

A truly good deed must always start with God, i.e. there must be a lovely and trustworthy object (God) in which the subject (us) can place their love and trust. 

Why? 

1. Without a worthy object, there can be (and is) no love and trust in and by us. 

2. There is nothing more worthy of our complete love and trust other than the infinitely lovely and trustworthy. Only an infinitely lovely object can evoke and draw infinite love out of us.  

3. God is the source/cause of love, not us.

4. By design we receive and respond to love, not initiate it i.e. as God-like creatures (in his image) we are created for love and hard-wired to respond to love. When loved sacrificially, we respond with love.

It (a deed) also must end with God. That which is Spirit driven is also God-focused (targeted). God is not only the cause/source of love, He's also the end/object of it i.e. all that we do is done for the glory of God.

God is both the beginning/cause (the Alpha) and end (Omega) of all our actions/deeds. 

This means we are all about "showing him off" to others. To say it another way, if you are truly God-focused (all about advancing his honor/worth/glory) you are Spirit-driven.

But it doesn't stop here 

This is only where it starts. God is the cause and end of our actions, but to know this fully (for it to be perfected/completed), we must act on who he is for us by faith. Our faith must be perfected/ matured (just as Christ also learned obedience through His own struggles). 

To see, enter into and experience him as lovely and trustworthy in ever-increasing degrees, we must pursue him as such, i.e. by faith. Our (subjective) experience of him as a being that is loving and trustworthy (objectively) is contingent upon our actions rooted in faith, i.e. that he is loving and trustworthy. This goes beyond the proof of God's love already shown by his past sacrifice and involves our present engagement, ongoing experience, and participation in that love.

This doesn't mean he loves us more when we obey him, it means we enter more fully into that infinite, ²unobstructed love he has already totally and fully secured for us in Christ. A love He had for us long before we ever lifted a finger for his sake (Rom 5:8). 

True faith always results in acting upon what we believe. As James said, "...Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works..." There must be movement towards (attraction to and affection for) the object of love, otherwise, our knowledge of God is only in our heads and not in our hearts. 

If there is no attraction, affection, and resulting action, there is no real and true love, i.e. we really don't know his love for us. If we did, we would (and will) act accordingly. 

To truly know his love is to be moved to love him in return, i.e. moved to action-obedience. It is not possible to truly know we are loved by God and not be moved to love him back.

1Jn_4:8  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (i.e. it is impossible to know the God of love and not be moved to love) 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent (God's love for us moved him to act/send) his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

1Jn_4:19  We love because he first loved us (and only because he first loved us). 

1Jn_5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 

1Jn_5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

Jas 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing...

Jas 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?...

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. - James a disciple of Christ. 

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¹God, as a union of love between the Father and Son, in, by, and through the Spirit is the Source love, life, and all things. 

²Unobstructed only on His side of the relationship. There is nothing that hinders or stops His love for us as His child in Christ, but there is plenty on our side that prevents us from fully entering into and experiencing that love. 

For a discussion on the difference between being spirit driven vs works driven click here.

For a discussion on being loved VS experiencing his love click here.

For a discussion on becoming who we already are in Christ click here.

The gospel driven life is all about Christ

* What is a key benefit of suffering?

It increases our appreciation for Christ's love and suffering for us.

* What is a key benefit of increasing awareness of our distrust of God, i.e. of our brokenness?

It increases our appreciation for Christ's love and suffering for us.

* What is a key benefit of our increased faithfulness-obedience to God?

It increases our appreciation for Christ's love and suffering for us. 

Everything about our present experience, awareness, and conduct should remind us of Christ's love and what he did for us. This is the essence of a “gospel-driven” life. 

Our increasingly greater understanding and appreciation of Christ's love and suffering for us causes us to love him in return which is the "engine" that drives us to live for the glory of God. The more fully we understand what Christ did to restore us back to the Father the more glorious he becomes for us and the more we fall in love with Christ and the Father. Our faithfulness is driven by love - the Spirit - and our love is driven by our relationship-union with the Source of love and life - the Father, Son, and Spirit.

For a discussion on how our suffering reveals God's love click here.

For a further discussion on the benefits of suffering, click here. 

For a further discussion on understanding our brokenness, click here.

For a further discussion on the importance of obedience, click here. 

The necessity of hope

No one operates without hope. We all must have it. Without hope, we give up trying to accomplish things. Once we lose hope we quit.

What is hope? It is ¹anticipation or expectation -- sometimes absolute confidence -- of obtaining what we do not yet have, that we believe will give us the greatest sense of meaning, importance, worth, significance, etc. The common emotion we experience when we obtain this is happiness. 

To say it another way, hope is driven by finding what we believe is missing that will make us most happy if and when we find it.

What is it about us that causes us to need and seek hope? Why is having hope so essential, so much so that we will end our life if we no longer have it? What is missing that creates a desire to always look for something to satisfy us; to fulfill our hope? ²Why do we hope at all?

Hope is so much a part of our makeup, even in suicide someone is operating out of hope.

Ironically, they hope to end the pain of no longer having hope. They have lost hope of finding any true or lasting meaning, purpose or significance. They feel totally helpless, useless, and worthless. The pain of their present existence is greater than their hope of finding relief from it. They are driven by a desperate hope that ending their present state might stop the screaming pain of no hope and give them peace. When we say, ³"rest in peace" (R.I.P) when someone leaves this "veil of tears" we are expressing this very thing. The hope that our life ending will finally stop the unsuccessful pursuit to relieve the pain of disappointment, fear, loss etc.

Hope for the unbeliever

Ultimately, hope for the unbeliever is the satisfaction of their thirst for meaning, purpose, and value occurring when they obtain wealth, fame, power influence, a life partner or  ____________  (fill in the blank), etc.  Outside of Christ and His infinite love, all our energy, and creativity, all our endeavors and enterprises are driven by this hope.

If our hope is a specific goal, such as "one day I will be or have the best this or that' -- 'get that perfect job' -- 'find the perfect partner' -- 'become a multimillionaire' -- 'win the Olympics' - or whatever we believe will give us the greatest sense of meaning,, significance, purpose etc. - and when I do, I will finally find real happiness." 

Ironically reaching a major life goal can result in the opposite of what is hoped for - i.e. despair, not happiness. After great struggle and effort someone finally reachs what they hoped would give them some anticipated meaning or significance, only to find it ⁴does not give them the satisfaction and peace they'd hoped for. 

We sometimes hear of those reaching the pinnacle of their dreams and goals only to become totally disenchanted. Then trying to numb the pain of this new discovery through substance abuse, often winding up overdosing or taking their own life. 

Think of all the ⁵celebrities who have struggled with substance abuse after reaching wealth and fame. Their life ended as a result. 

These are people our culture admires and looks up to with the greatest regard/ admiration. After all, they have "made it" in life. 

Yet, they are miserable more often than not and sometimes more than ever. This is true far more than we like to acknowledge. To acknowledge this means we are hoping for the wrong things.

Existentialism. Man's solution to hope in a postmodern world.

The existentialist says there is no real objective purpose or meaning to our existence. Yet everything within us objects and screams out against this. We are compelled to have meaning and hope. We must have it! So much so that this world view says we must create it even when their belief system doesn't allow for it. 

So how does the existentialist handle this dilemma? They tell you to create a sense of meaning (subjectively) by doing things that make you feel meaningful and significant, i.e. create meaning by acting as if there is meaning even though their world view says it is a myth. Do something that gives you a sense of meaning and purpose even though the universe, including us, is truly pointless and a big cosmic accident that came about by chance. 

Existentialism demonstrates that hope is such a necessary part of our makeup, we must somehow create it even though it is totally incompatible with their world view.

So hope for the existentialist is creating a sense of meaning through my actions in an otherwise meaningless existence.  i.e. we must create meaning through our existing in a meaningful way, even though our existence is meaningless according to them. For the existentialist, there is no real absolute and objective truth or meaning; no objective, transcendent purpose. It is purely subjective. 

The expression "If it feels good, do it" - so prevalent today - is the "fruit" of this world view. Purpose, significance, or meaning is based solely on my experience not on any absolute objective reality that any of these are real since no such reality exists for the existentialist. 

Suicide is not uncommon among those who adopt this philosophy. For Camus (a highly regarded existentialist) - since there is no real objective meaning in the universe - "Should I kill myself?" was the essential and nagging philosophical question.

The believers hope

The ultimate hope for the believer is full satisfaction of purpose, meaning, and significance when we are face to face with Christ, the Creator - our relentless, boundless lover. It is a belief in this promise that fuels the believer's hope and actions.

This raises and addresses the question and dilemma of what is the legitimate motive for acting. Is it because, as believers, we ⁶already experience partial fulfillment in anticipation of complete fulfillment or because we are in search of something in order to be fulfilled as nonbelievers? 

The former results in acting out the hope of fullness, the latter out of emptiness. We are driven either by a desire to honor God because we already have absolute and perfect meaning through the promise/hope of eternal meaning/bliss in and with Him or the hope for some kind of meaning now through our efforts.

(ESV)  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

(KJV)  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

(NASB)  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

(AMP)  NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

(ERV)  Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see.

(GNB)  To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.

For a discussion on how this life is full of trouble click here. 

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¹There appears to be different kinds or levels of hope. "I hope so" would probably be the weakest and most common meaning we give that word. It's more wishful thinking than a rock-solid certainty. This is commonly what is meant when hope is used in casual conversation. 

Anticipation and expectation are a little stronger. This would be what a kid feels leading up to Christmas. Though they don't have their gifts yet, they are sure they will because they have always received them in the past and believe they will again because of past treatment. 

This video (click here) is revealing -- and possibly a humorous or cruel example of how significant hope is when kids get something other then what they hoped for at Christmas or their birthdays. This is not something we have to teach kids. Hope is an inherent part of our makeup. 

The strongest form of hope is absolute certainty. This is usually how hope is used in the bible. What you hope for is so certain it's as if you already have it when you do not yet i.e. the only piece missing is you don't yet have what you hope for but are 100% sure you will. The reason for the certainty is it is based on the unchangeable nature of the one making the promise i.e. God Himself and the actions He has already taken -- by sending Jesus -- as rock-solid proof He already loves us and will fufill what he promised. God has already acted in a way that assures us he will come through on what we are told is yet to come. 

Men make promises but they are not all-powerful and may not be able to keep them. God, however, is absolutely able and therefore always true to His word/promise. He not only has the intent (love) to do what He promises, but the ability (power) to accomplish it and also knows exactly (wisdom) what is needed. 

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²For a discussion of what it is we are all after click here.

³It is ironic that there is a universal sense -- though not always a conscious one -- that no one is permanently at peace in this life. Hence the wish for someone to rest in peace (R.I.P.) after dying. This is a back handed way of acknowledging life is a struggle and often full of turmoil. It is worth pointing out this expression began when the notion that someone who was a follower of Christ was headed for heaven - a place of perfect rest and peace - was much more commonly held. We still use the expression even though certainty of a blissful afterlife is far less common. The idea is we feel we must leave this life to be free from our restlessness -- or at least hope we will be. Complete uninterrupted peace in this life is elusive at best. Therefore we hope for it after this life.

⁴Or the thrill quickly fades so we redouble our efforts to achieve it again, or try something else in an attempt to find a better thrill and temporary rush of happiness -- or relief of pain. The fact that we go after it, again and again, indicates we never actually find it -- at least not in a lasting way -- yet hope we still can.  

⁵It's not that celebrities have more struggles. We all struggle. But it's because, more than the average person, they obtain what we all hope for and experience it first hand -- unlike most of us -- and then - to their dismay - find it doesn't deliver on its promises. To say it concisely, what they had hoped for they achieved but it still didn't work. 

⁶Though we will not experience complete fulfillment in this life, it is the anticipation of it, that gives us hope and joy.