On Hope

20κατὰ τὴν ἀποκαραδοκίαν καὶ ἐλπίδα μου

This is the first part of Philippians 1:20. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with the κατὰ, but it’s the ἀποκαραδοκίαν καὶ ἐλπίδα that really caught my attention as I was studying this morning.

ἀποκαραδοκίαν is a very interesting word. It’s a classic Paul word: multiple words scrunched together for emphasis. It is a word describing hope. O’Brien suggests that it has a bit of a negative connotation to it. When you take the word apart, it means to look away from something to consider another thing. The intensity is demonstrated in the image of a head stretching out far in a different direction.

Hope definitely takes us in a different direction. I find that it is very easy to get sucked into the world’s downward pull and the only way out is to turn my eyes away. And I guess the intensity of that is difficulty I feel trying to break free of that pull.

καὶ ἐλπίδα, then is a more future oriented and positive hopefulness. And we need both: hope for the moment that enables to believe that I can live differently now and for the future that gives me something to live toward.

I had a medical procedure today that I’ve been anticipating for nearly three weeks. Hope was what enabled me to get through that time with as little anxiety as I did. No matter what the result, I knew that I could get through the potential present difficulties and arrive at my promised future. It gave me a better understanding of what Paul was saying when he declared that to “live is Christ and to die is gain.” It really is “win-win.” Now there’s reason for hope!