Have you ever noticed that the same word can have totally different meanings. What controls the meaning is the intent of the user and the context around it.
Example – what is the definition of the word “trunk” in the following sentences?
The elephant lifted his trunk to snatch a branch full of tasty leaves.
She slammed on her car brakes, only to have someone smash into her trunk.
Even as a little girl, she began putting precious keepsakes in a trunk hidden in her closet.
Most forest skiers who slam into a trunk get the worst of it.
Embarrassingly, grandpa lost his trunks when he dove into the public swimming pool.
“Well,” you observe, “there appear to be 5 rather different meanings.”
Yep. And so it is with words used in the Bible. A common, simple word used in different places (or contexts) have yield a variety of meanings.
What does it mean to have “HOPE”?
“Hey, I’ve got to ask you something. You’re going to speak on hope this weekend, right? OK…we were talking about this in our Bible study. When used in the Bible, what does hope mean?”
Like the word trunk, it depends. For example, the Apostle John wrote to a group of Christians and said, “I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face” (3 John 1:14). What did he mean? Well, something like, “I would really like to see you soon, and I’m planning on it…but then again, things could change.” When used like this, we express that we want something to happen, but there is no guarantee.
“I hope the Broncos get a good quarterback and win the Super Bowl next year!”
“I hope this lottery ticket I bought is a winner!”
“I hope I don’t get COVID.”
“I hope I meet someone nice to marry.”
