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This world is saturated with symbols. Symbols are a reoccurring thing and they appear almost everywhere. They appear in literature, movies, culture, and more. Moreover, symbols act as memorable reminders of bigger ideas. Examples of symbols include the statue of liberty which is a symbol of freedom in the United States while the butterfly is a symbol of transformation. But what is the symbol of hope, peace, and salvation? To find out, continue reading.

Hope and Its Symbolism

Hope is such a magnificent and scriptural virtue. I talk specifically about hope in this post. But, when you hope for something, you aspire to what will be coming to your hand. So, if you are collecting money to buy a new car, you are working and hoping for that new car.

Some of you are hoping to have a child while others are hoping to buy a house. The thing with hope is that it requires you to set a goal and to work for that goal until it becomes reality.

The Biblical version of hope is when you aspire to what God is going to do in your life. Furthermore, the Bible clearly states that God is willing to help you.

Psalm 54:4 World English Bible (WEB)
⁴Behold, God is my helper.
The Lord is the one who sustains my soul.

For me, the thing that really symbolizes hope is the empty tomb. When I recall that the grave could not hold our precious Lord Jesus Christ even after He died on the cross for me, my heart jumps in joy.

And when you hear that Lord Jesus Christ is the God of the Living, your dream ought to come to life. He introduces Himself as the God of the living because He conquered death, and He wishes to give you a life worth living.

Mark 12:26-27 World English Bible (WEB)
²⁶But about the dead, that they are raised; haven’t you read in the book of Moses, about the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? Exodus 3:6 ²⁷He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken.”

So, when you make plans and set goals to accomplish, God will bless those plans. He will make sure that your plans come to fruition as long as they are good plans. If they are bad plans which will ultimately harm you or someone else, then, God will lead you to something better.

Proverbs 16:3 World English Bible (WEB)
³Commit your deeds to Yahweh,
and your plans shall succeed.

The Symbol of Peace

Moving onwards, peace is another thing that the Bible talks about. Peace is such a vital part of life. If you do not have peace, you are restless. And being restless is not fun. It is actually quite stressful.

But, what if I told you that you can have peace even in a stressful situation? You do not need to be restless because of your situation, you need to calm down and receive the peace of God.

Philippians 4:7 King James Version (KJV)
⁷And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

God’s peace is the assurance that all things will end up good for you because Lord Jesus Christ will take care of you. And to remember this assurance of peace promised to you by God, remember Holy Spirit. In the Bible, Holy Spirit is often symbolized as a dove.

But, the symbolization of peace is not just any dove, it is Holy Spirit. And Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God living in you. Jesus Christ’s spirit is Holy Spirit and I believe He is the symbol of peace.

In the chaotic turmoil of everyday life, Holy Spirit lives in you. God’s kindness, God’s love, God’s power, and God’s peace resides within you.

So, when life brings its challenges to your doorstep, you just need to put your faith in Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1-2 World English Bible (WEB)
5 Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; ²through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

You have peace with God because you are justified by faith. And this faith is the trust you have in Lord Jesus Christ. So trusting Him is the means by which you attain the peace that surpasses all understanding. You don’t need to understand His peace, you need to believe and experience it.

The Symbol of Salvation

Finally, we come to the symbol of salvation.

Salvation is when you know that you’re safe and sound. This applies to your body, soul, and spirit. All three things need salvation, and I believe Lord Jesus Christ answers all of them.

Lord Jesus Christ provides salvation through the cross. And I can think of no symbol greater than the cross of Calvary. The rugged cross Christ Jesus bore on His shoulder is a symbol of suffering to Christ, and yet, a symbol of salvation to us.

1 Corinthians 1:18 World English Bible (WEB)
¹⁸For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The cross represents the suffering our Lord Jesus Christ endured on our behalf so that when God suffers in the flesh as a human being, His blessings come unto us. Now, His sacrifice ensures that we live a life belonging to Him.

But, to accept His sacrifice, I urge you to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, if you have not already. As soon as you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, your life is under His leadership and you’re name is written down in Heaven.

Galatians 2:20 World English Bible (WEB)
²⁰I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.

We are no longer bound by the grasp of sin or the torments of guilt, rather, we are the blood-bought children of God Almighty. Hell no longer expects our arrival as our names are sealed in His heart.

Now, remember that Lord Jesus Christ did not stay dead, in fact, He rose again after three days. That is why the empty tomb of Lord Jesus Christ is the symbol of hope. It is a hope that since He is alive, we are alive.

And when Lord Jesus Christ suffered on the cross, He dealt with our sickness, our sin, and our guilt. Therefore, Lord Jesus Christ gives us the blessings He deserved in all His perfection.

True freedom. The freedom to enjoy life is such a lovely thing and it is truly tragic when someone goes through the sways of life but is never able to enjoy freedom in its entirety. God designed human beings to enjoy freedom. It is in your nature to be free and to pleasure in the benefits of liberty. That is why I am taking the time to dedicate an entire post to the topic of freedom to make you understand its nature and enjoy the freedom to live, so continue reading.

Captivity and Its Deceptive Borders

One can live a life of normality and still live in captivity. Captivity is sometimes not as obvious as it seems. It is not always a dirty dungeon, it can be one’s fears, strongholds, and more, which makes it very hard to identify. An example of this is a rich man reaping a six figure salary yet unable to enjoy relationships out of fear that someone will take his money.

Similarly, Jesus also told a story of a greedy man and exposed the vanity of greed.

Luke 12:20 World English Bible (WEB)
²⁰“But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’

God reminded the greedy man when he died that his money will only stay with him so as long as he’s alive, but, as soon as he dies, he cannot enjoy that money. That man was a slave to his financial fortune.

Freedom to buy anything you want but to be enslaved by your love for money is not true freedom. True freedom as the Bible puts it, is to enjoy life and God’s gifts in the way which God knows is best for us.

And the border between captivity and freedom is very hard to pinpoint. Many have the freedom to eat anything their heart desires, but they are captive to their addiction to food. Others have the freedom to exercise like anything, yet, they remain captive to their obsession over public image.

I am not saying money, exercise, or tasty food is bad. What I am saying is that there’s a multitude of things which can enslave us as human beings and you just have to ask yourself, “Am I really free? Is there anything that enslaves me?”

Liberating the Captives

And if you know deep within your heart that you are a slave, reach out to God. Jesus offers you the promise of freedom. Freedom to enjoy your life in all its entirety.

Matthew 11:28 World English Bible (WEB)
²⁸“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.

Over 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ, being God, came in the flesh as a man and took the punishment for your sins along with the whips reserved to make you a slave, and He bought you freedom to live as children of God.

Three days after, He rose again from the dead and is now alive, forevermore. This is the gospel of freedom which the Bible is all about and I talk more about it in this post.

Luke 4:18 World English Bible (WEB)
¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the broken hearted,
    to proclaim release to the captives,
    recovering of sight to the blind,
    to deliver those who are crushed,

Jesus said that He is here to proclaim release to the captives. When Jesus says that He has come to “proclaim release to the captives,” the Greek word used in the Gospel for the word, “release,” is “aphesis.”

Aphesis almost always translates as meaning forgiveness in the other verses mentioning it but in this case, God uses it to mean release or freedom from captivity.

Therefore, I believe freedom starts with forgiveness. And whether you’re struggling with addiction, pride, greed, or whatever else enslaves the human mind, you must first understand that when you turn to Jesus Christ, God forgives you.

Ephesians 1:7 World English Bible (WEB)
⁷in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

Freedom to Live a Life With God

Therefore, God has purchased and redeemed you with His blood and has forgiven you as soon as you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. If you were a slave under the slave owner named, “Pride,” or “Greed,” or “Addiction,” Jesus Christ is your new master. He alone is your Lord and your God.

When He purchased you through His sacrifice on the cross, He decided to no longer call you a servant, but as His friend.

John 15:15 World English Bible (WEB)
¹⁵No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.

Even more, He not only calls you His friend, but calls you into His family where you can call Him as your Heavenly Father. God grants you the privilege to be His beloved child.

1 John 3:2 World English Bible (WEB)
²Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.

And so, you have the freedom to be God’s child and to be friends with Him. You do not need to be a slave to evil passions or sinful desires but now you are led by Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of God. So, come out of the darkness and into the light to enjoy your relationship with God. Freedom was never cheap. Someone had to pay a heavy price for it.

But, since Jesus already paid for our freedom, it is now free for you to access. Now, it’s up to you to experience the freedom which God has granted to you.

John 8:32 World English Bible (WEB)
³²You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Psalm 119:45

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The Symbol of Hope, Peace, and Salvation