ANCHORED BY HOPE, IMPELLED BY LOVE

Hope Compared to an Anchor

Paul pointed out that Jehovah had made a promise of blessings to come through Abraham.  Then the apostle explained:  "God . . .stepped in with an oath, in order that, through two unchangeable things [his word and his oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to the refuge may have strong encouragement to lay hold on  the hope set before us.  This hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both sure and firm."  (Hebrews 6:17-19; Genesis 22:16-18)  The hope set before anointed Christians is that of immortal life in heaven.  Today, the vast majority of Jehovah's servants have the splendid hope of everlasting life on a paradise earth.  (Luke 23:43) Without such  hope, one can  have not faith.

An anchor is a powerful safety device indispensable for holding a ship in place and preventing it from drifting.  No mariner would venture out of port without an anchor.  Since Paul had been shipwrecked several times, he knew from experience  that the lives of seafarers often depended on their ship's anchors.  (Acts 27:29, 39, 40;  2 Corinthians 11:25)  In the first century, a ship had no engine to enable the captain to maneuver as he wished.  Except for oar driven warships, vessels depended  primarily on the wind for movement.  If his ship was in danger of being driven onto rocks, a captain's only recourse was to drop anchor  and ride out the storm, trusting that the anchor would not lose its grip on the seabed.  Paul therefore compared a Christian's hope to "an anchor for the soul, both sure and firm."  (Hebrews 6:19)  When we are assailed by storms of opposition or experience other trials, our wonderful hope is like an anchor that stabilizes us as living souls, so that our ship of faith does not drift onto the dangerous shoals of doubt or the disastrous rocks of apostasy. -Hebrews 2:1; Jude 8-13.

Paul warned Hebrew Christians:  "Beware, brothers, for fear there should ever develop in any one of you a wicked heart lacking faith by drawing away from the living God."  (Hebrews 3:12)  In the Greek text, "drawing away" literally means "to stand off," that is, to apostatize.  But we can avoid such utter shipwreck.  Faith and hope will enable us to stick to Jehovah even during the worst storms of testing.  (Deuteronomy 4:4; 30:19, 20) Our faith will not be like a ship tossed about by winds of apostate teaching.  (Ephesians 4:13, 14)  And with hope as our anchor,we will be able to weather the storms of life as Jehovah's servants.

Next time: Impelled by Love and Holy Spirit

Watchtower, 2000