Berkhof on Hope

Hendrikus Berkhof: "In short, in the New Testament the future is the unfolding and completion of that which already exists in Christ and the Spirit and which will be carried through triumphantly in spite of sin, suffering, and death." 13 He goes on to make the point that Christian hope takes its rise, not primarily in poverty, but in possession. The Christian hopes for far greater blessings in the future, not because he now has so little, but because he already has so much: "With us human beings, hope for a happy future usually rises from poverty and uncertainty; the Christian hope, however, rises from a possession which opens many more vistas for the future. That is why hope is regularly found in connection with faith and love, which are both possessions. But the very fact that we possess makes us feel painfully what we still miss; it 'tastes like more.' Hope therefore is the fruit of both possession and lack."