hopemore

Think about a crush that you've had in the past. And I'm talking a legitimate crush that was completely unrequited — but not in the sad, oh-woe-is-me-because-my-heart-is-smattered-to-pieces kind of unrequited, but the sentimental kind where you sighed to your closest friends, "Man, I am hopelessly in love (or "hopelessly in like," if you're not that intense of a person) with him/her."

Never had one? Okay then, perhaps my little thought exercise won't really work for you, but I really got to thinking (rather randomly) about the meaning of the phrase "hopelessly in love," so just play along.

What does it mean to be "hopelessly in love"?

For starters, "hopelessly" means "in a manner without hope," which means that there is no possibility for returned feelings and/or a future together.

"In love" could mean anything from slight infatuation to actual deep, legit devotion+unconditional love.

So, to say that you are "hopelessly in love" with someone means that even though you have very ardent feelings for a certain someone, there is no (or very, very little) chance of that person returning your feelings and/or having a future - i.e. romantic relationship - with that person.

So, the question that popped into my mind as I randomly thought about this (and seriously, it was like legit random haha) was, "Then why bother?" Why bother holding onto those feelings? I think it's because honestly, though we call it a "hopeless" situation, at the core of it, we keep liking/loving that person because we are somewhat hopeful that it might work out because of our persistence or some crazy miracle. With thoughts of, oh wouldn't it be nice if...? If we truly believed that it was hopeless, we wouldn't keep thinking about it, because why waste your energy on something that ultimately won't work out?

But interestingly enough, I got to thinking, man, we need to have that kind of desperation in our love for God - we need to be "hopelessly in love" with God! We need to be "hopelessly in love" with Jesus!

I soon realized, though, that such a statement is nothing more than a cute phrase/idea because our love for God should not be hopeless. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us; we love Him because He first loved us. God's love for us is one that is hopemore - that even if we feel like it would be impossible for Him to love us back (being the flawed and fickle humans we are) or even if we're uncertain what the future holds for us, God tells us, "Stop doubting. My love is something to look forward to, something that I want to give you now, not something that can only be found in fiction or in your wildest dreams."

God never wants our love for Him to be in vain, to be something that is hopeless, unreturned. If anything, God should consider His love for us to be hopeless - I mean, considering how much we stray from, neglect, deny Him, what kind of self-respecting (and we know that God thinks pretty darn highly of Himself - just look at the last few chapters of Job) all-powerful being would pursue us and wait for us so relentlessly? In our sin, in our disobedience, we've made it pretty clear at times that we don't see a future with Him, that we don't need or want to be with Him.

But God had hope for us, hope that He wanted to share with us - and so He did. He kept trying, and finally, He sent His one and only Son Jesus to give us the ultimate declaration of love: I'm not giving up on you, because there is a future for us that will be carried out.

So, why call it a "hopemore" love rather than a "hopeful" love? Well, I think for me, it's because God's love is something that causes us to anticipate more and more amazing things for the future, whether it's here on Earth or up in heaven - yes, those things are full of hope, and the future is thus full of hope, but I think the important thing is recognizing the thrill of having expectations that will never not be met. We can afford to dream and look towards the ultimate prize with assurance that we will obtain it someday, as opposed to hopelessly resigning ourselves to receiving the bare minimum, or perhaps nothing at all.

Hope more! Expect more! We're not putting demands on God — don't get me wrong, God is completely sovereign — but we must trust in His promises and His unfailing love. Those are really the only things we live for everyday, word?