“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel” (Colossians 1:22,23).

My son loves football, and he’s a stereotypical lineman. Sometimes when I give him a hug, I try to push him over. With barely any effort, he stands there while my sock-covered feet keep slipping out from under me. No matter how hard I try, nothing moves him. Sometimes he even laughs and asks if I’m ever going to start actually pushing. (What a stinker!)

Then one day I realized that his unyielding stance against my feeble attack is the perfect picture of hope for people who believe in Jesus.

Because Jesus died for us, we are holy and perfect in his sight. This gives us the strength to stand against the world and its sadness, accusations, hurts, and lies. Those things keep trying to discourage us, but when they come up against our hope in Jesus, they slip. From multiple angles, they keep trying to push us over, but we are unmovable. Thanks to Jesus, our hope is true and firm—now and forever. And we can laugh at the days to come, not because the world isn’t painful but because we are clothed in Christ’s strength.