"...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are THE RICHES OF HIS GLORIOUS INHERITANCE IN THE SAINTS..."   Ephesians 1:17-18 

"But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, WAITING FOR OUR BLESSED HOPE, THE APPEARING OF THE GLORY OF OUR GREAT GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."  Titus 2:1-14

The Blessed Hope of the coming of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (Titus 2:13) is meant to feed, sustain, and energize present-day living as a powerful weapon in the Christian's arsenal.

"But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation."  1 Thessalonians 5:8

CONSIDERATIONS:

1. We live with the understanding that eternal happiness awaits the believer after death in Heaven.

“To come to thee is to come home from exile, to come to land out of the raging storm, to come to rest after long labor, to come to the goal of my desires and the summit of my wishes.”  Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

“Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, (our longing) but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing... I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and help others to do the same.”  C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

“It becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward Heaven…to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labor for or set our hearts on anything else, but that which is our proper end and true happiness?”  Jonathan Edwards ( 1703-1758)

2. The blessed hope protects us from despair and cynicism.

“The burden of pain, care, misery grows heavier year by year. At length, ambition is dead, pride is dead, vanity is dead, longing for release is in their place. It comes at last– the only unpoisoned gift Earth ever had for them–and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence; where they achieved nothing; where they were a mistake and a failure and a foolishness.”  Mark Twain, Autobiography of Mark Twain (1835-1910)

A HEAVEN-ORIENTED ETHOS INVOLVES:

1. Being trained to RENOUNCE ungodliness and worldly passions.

“But do you remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one–the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”  C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (p. 96-97)

2. Being trained to EMBRACE a self-controlled, (thoughtful, prudent) upright, (conduct not condemned and clearly observed) and godly (that which is pleasing to the Father) way of living. 

These things flow from the posture of waiting/longing/anticipation.

APPLICATION:

1. We live in the “already but not yet.” With the coming of Jesus, the Kingdom has radically broken in, but the full manifestation of the rule of Christ will be made known in eternity. There is real joy now but incredible joy awaits. 

2. We live with the spirit of thankfulness and anticipation.

“The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment he has scattered broadcast…our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”  C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain