Do you remember the 1977 movie, Oh God, starring John Denver and George Burns? Denver plays a man named Jerry Landers, a non-descript kind of guy who suddenly begins to experience conversations with God—played by George Burn. God wants Landers to carry to the world the message that God still cares. Cute little movie with some interesting scenes. One scene in particular came to mind this week as I looked at today’s Scripture passage from Hebrews. Landers eventually ends up in court—I don’t recall the exact circumstances or charges, but it relates to his claims that he’s been having these conversations with God. Eventually, God…George Burns, shows up to testify on John Denver’s behalf. And so, God must be "sworn in" to testify. In response to the bailiff’s question, "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," "God" answers, "So help me, me." Cute line!

That scene came to mind because the writer to Hebrews, after encouraging his readers in the certainty of their salvation and challenging them to move forward to greater maturity in living out their faith, now writes them about God’s faithfulness to His promises. And the example the writer uses is God’s promises to Abraham, one of which God confirms by swearing an oath before Abraham. In an oral culture, like Abraham’s and like that of first century Christians, verbal agreements sworn by an oath were very important—the routine way of "signing contracts" in that day. Now, verbal agreements are confirmed by swearing an oath to a higher power than the one making the promise—the swearing in ceremony in a courtroom, for example, in which one promises to tell the truth "so help me, God." Since there is no higher power than God, God confirms His promise by swearing an oath in His own name. The actual passage is Genesis 22:16 in which an angel of the Lord says to Abraham, "I swear by myself,’ declares the Lord," and there follows the reaffirmation of the promise to bless Abraham and his descendants. Recalling that story, the writer of Hebrews now writes this to his readers: (Read Hebrews 6:13-20).

What is it that you hope for, or, in what do you place your hope? Asked in the context of the season of the year, the answer often relates to hoped for wish lists for Christmas presents. "I’m hoping for the latest video game," or, "I’m hoping for a diamond ring," or maybe new golf clubs or the latest electronic device are at the top of the list. There are those, I suppose it still could be said, who are hoping the Broncos win the Super Bowl! Whatever it might be, we all have hopes and dreams.

Yet, sadly, we often place our hopes in things that will ultimately disappoint or fail to bring the joy hoped for. A toy breaks, or a newer, bigger version of it renders the old one obsolete and unsatisfying. The Broncos don’t go 19 and 0, or don’t win the Super Bowl, maybe even (gasp!) don’t make the playoffs. The new golf clubs don’t cure that wicked slice. The diamond rings are nice but the same old insecurities in self-esteem still exist. In truth, we put a lot of hope into things that can’t deliver.

The only secure hope to be found is that which is based in Jesus Christ. Our hope for forgiveness for the mistakes of our past is secured in Jesus Christ. Our hope for a future eternity in God’s heavenly kingdom is secured in Jesus Christ. And our hope for a fruitful and productive present in this life is secured in Jesus Christ. The only certain hope to be found is that hope which is secured in Jesus Christ.

Interestingly, the writer uses Abraham, who lived some 2,000 years before Christ, as the example for this hope in the promises of God. Keep in mind that the writer is writing to the "Hebrews," Jews who have accepted Jesus Christ as the bearer of a new covenant from the God they’ve worshiped all their lives. Abraham is a name that would get their attention. They know the story very well. God promised a blessing upon Abraham and his descendants. Only Abraham didn’t have any children. The promise went unfulfilled for 25 years before the birth of Isaac. Abraham walked in hope of the promise of God for 25 years. Certainly not perfectly, there are numerous examples of where Abraham acted out of doubt in the promises of God—manipulating the possibility for a descendant through Sarah’s servant, Hagar, being chief among them. Yet, through all the doubt and all the actions based on doubt, Abraham was brought back to the promise of God. The promise was before him, even when facing the seemingly insurmountable reality that he and his wife, Sarah, had advanced beyond the age of bearing children and continuing through the confusing instruction from God to sacrifice the child they finally, miraculously had, Isaac, the child of the promise. Through all these difficulties, Abraham’s hope remained in the promise made by God and affirmed by God’s oath.

Later in his letter, the writer of Hebrews will see in Abraham and his Old Testament counterparts their witness to those, like us, who follow attempting to live in hope in the promises of God. Citing their lives of faith, the writer says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for," (11:1, 2). He then writes what I call the "Faith Hall of Fame," citing the examples of these "ancients." They pursued a relationship with God, guided by his promises, some of which did not occur in their lifetime. Specifically for the writer of Hebrews, the fulfillment of God’s ultimate reconciliation of the relationship between God and humanity that took place in Jesus Christ did not occur in their lifetimes, yet they lived with faith in God. Again, about the "ancients" the writer says, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance," (11:13). Abraham didn’t know the full extent of the blessing promised by God. He only saw a small portion of it. And the same is true for the other "ancients." They chose to live, not in the hope of their circumstances, but in the hope that was theirs through Almighty God.

Now, the writer says, that fulfillment of the promises of God has come. It has come in Jesus Christ. The descendants of Abraham have been blessed through the birth of a Savior in the ancestral line of Abraham. The promises the "ancients" lived for have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It is evidence for the Hebrews—and for us—that God is faithful and is the best source toward which we place our hope.

The image used by the writer of Hebrews to illustrate this secure hope is that of an anchor. "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf." The high priestly role of Jesus, which the writer of Hebrews previously brought to our attention, has led to our hope being set firm and secure like an anchor.

The anchor was an important symbol to early Christians. In the catacombs throughout the Roman Empire in which early Christians hid under the threat of persecution, archaeologists have discovered three prominent symbols scratched or painted onto the walls. One is the familiar fish symbol, which developed meaning for early Christians because the Greek word for "fish"—icthus—formed an acrostic in which each letter stood for the phrase "Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior." The second symbol is a dove which stood for the Holy Spirit, recalling the story of Jesus’ baptism when the Spirit descended upon Jesus, "like a dove." And the third symbol most often found in these hiding places for persecuted Christians was an anchor. The Scriptural significance of the anchor is derived almost entirely from this passage in Hebrews. The anchor certainly served as a reminder of the occupation of many of the disciples—particularly the two sets of brothers, Peter and Andrew, and James and John—that being fishermen. Most importantly, however, was its significance as a symbol of security and stability in a time of trouble—the Biblical image for that coming solely from this passage in Hebrews. To early Christians facing trials and persecution, the anchor was a symbol of their hope being secured in Jesus Christ.

It remains a powerful symbol for today as well. Just last Friday, Kim and I were driving home from visiting my mom and dad when we stopped at a stoplight. There on the car in front of us was a bumper sticker which read, "Jesus is my anchor in a storm." The anchor remains a meaningful symbol for Christians today and its meaning comes entirely from this passage in Hebrews. "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

In the context of what we’ve been reading from Hebrews over the past few weeks, the writer appears to be telling us this: The only place where we can have certainty in what we hope for is Jesus Christ. As our Great High Priest, Christ secures our future by offering the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and in our moving forward to maturity in faith we discover the only focus for our hope is to be directed toward Christ. In fact, the security that is ours in our anchor, Christ Jesus, makes it possible for us to live a life of greater effectiveness and fruitfulness because we are freed from fear that has its source in any other aspect of our lives. We are freed from the fear that our good deeds are not enough to counter-balance our bad deeds. We are freed from fear of moving forward in our faith, the fear of change or the fear of leaving our comfort zone. And we are freed from the paralyzing fear of circumstances that threaten to overwhelm us. We are free from all of that because our hope is anchored in Jesus Christ.

I remember a documentary I once watched on the building of the Golden Gate Bridge. Such work, as one can imagine, was extremely dangerous. In fact, previous work on similar bridges—although not to the magnitude of the Golden Gate Bridge—had yielded a calculation for expected fatalities in the construction. For every million dollars worth of construction, one could expect the loss of one life. Or so the "formula" went. The engineers for the Golden Gate Bridge, however, thought they could do better. Implementing new safety measures—including a warning that any "showboating" on the job would result in immediate firing—the engineers hoped to reduce the risk. And it worked! After almost four years of construction and $20 million spent, only one worker had died. The "formula" had expected at least 20 deaths by then. What stood out for me, however, in the safety measures the engineers implemented was the use of a safety net beneath the construction. Extending ten feet out on both sides of the bridgework, the net was credited for saving eight lives of men who, without the net, would have plunged to their deaths. Significant as that was, and saving eight lives is highly significant, the engineers discovered another benefit. Workers became more productive because they were freed from a paralyzing fear of falling. I don’t think it would’ve helped me—I’d still have paralyzing fear in such a situation—but for workers involved in the project, they no longer had an overwhelming fear of falling.

That is the anchor of hope secured for us in Jesus Christ. We need not fear the future because it has been secured in our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. No questioning our status with God, no statements such as "the way to heaven is to do good deeds on earth and, hopefully, there are no surprises in the afterlife." Who wants to put their hope in that? No, our future is secure, it is anchored in Christ. Neither, then, do we fear the present—whatever our circumstances in life—because our hope is found in Jesus Christ and not in our circumstances. Christ is the "safety net" that frees us from paralyzing fear, the anchor in whatever storm we are facing. Besieged by temptations that threaten to draw us away from God, we can find the strength to resist because Jesus himself suffered severe temptations, yet was without sin. Facing difficult situations that threaten to overwhelm us, causing us to wonder where God is in the midst of them, we can find the strength to persevere and live in hope that God is faithful to His promises. They are anchored firm and secure in Jesus Christ. In enduring hardships and difficulties, we can persevere because our hope remains secure in Christ.

I don’t know where you are placing your hope these days. Hopefully, not in the Denver Broncos! Nor in any other thing than Jesus Christ. Those "things" are there for our enjoyment, for us to use as good stewards of God’s creation. Sometimes, the "things" of life bring hardships and trouble to us—sometimes as the consequence for our sin and sometimes simply the result of living in a fallen world. But in those times, we can endure because that is not the source for our hope. Our hope is found in Jesus Christ—an anchor that is firm and secure.