“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1
Two words in this verse from Hebrews stand out,— substance and evidence.
Substance by definition is the makeup of something. In this case faith is what makes up our hope.
The other word, evidence, is the proof. Faith is also the proof of the things we cannot see, but yet we believe.
Faith is the foundation of our Christian beliefs. We must trust that the promises of God are true and that the salvation Jesus offers is real. By faith we believe that Jesus came to bring humankind into a right relationship with God. Also by faith we live each day with the assurance that He holds our future We cannot explain this great love God has for us, nor can we do anything to earn it. We accept both only by faith.
That, my friends, is the hope that we experience anew each Advent season.