No, not another Star Wars revamp. Although the idea of a hero who stands firm in the face of an evil empire, trusting in and strengthened by a Greater Power, has some overlap.

Rather, 'a distinctive hope' is the little phrase I've had ringing in my head for the last few days since Tim prayed after preaching on Daniel 1 last Sunday. His sermon had left me with lots to meditate on: how distinctiveness and faithfulness are forged in the small decisions and stands of the everyday before they are tested in (spoilers) the fiery furnaces of life; the willingness of Daniel et al. to serve in obedience to Jeremiah 29 despite the injustices and indignities that might involve; the picture of God's sovereignty and faithfulness in the book of Daniel, and how those unchanging qualities free us to pray, obey and share the Gospel...

But it was Tim's reference to 1 Peter 3:15 in his closing prayer that set in motion a train of thought I'm now trying to set down: distinctive living of the sort that prompts curiosity and enquiry from unbelievers is the visible outworking of having a distinctive hope.

'The hope you have'

In the context of suffering grief in all kinds of trials (1 Peter 1:6) and suffering for doing good (3:13-14), the 'exiles' (1:1) to whom Peter writes have a 'living hope through the resurrection of Jesus' (1:3), a hope that is pinned on 'the grace to be brought...when Jesus is revealed at his coming' (1:13), a hope that enables them to respond distinctively to trial and persecution and 'repay evil with blessing' (3:9) such that the watching world notices and wonders about the reason for the hope they have (3:15). 

A hope that isn't tied to the things of this world doesn't falter when the things of this world perish, spoil or fade, or the people of this world persecute, sin against us or prove false. Such a hope enables living that stands out. 

And all the things Daniel and friends don't tie their hope to are really striking.

Hope not in...

Their hope is not in being on the winning side. It can't be. Jerusalem is fallen, the people are captive, their king has been humiliated, God has given them defeat (1:2). Their hope is not in success, in national pride, in being the victor. It is not in being in the dominant majority. 

Their hope is not in family and relationship. It probably can't be. Because they have likely been separated from close family in exile. Because they may (only 'may' – we can only speculate) have been made eunuchs under the charge of the king's 'chief eunuch' as Ashpenaz is referred to in the ESV translation. And because, even without that particular loss, their time and energies are not their own but are in the service of their Babylonian master. Still in their youth, hopes of family life have taken an early blow.  

Their hope is not in fulfilling their dreams. It can't be. Whatever expectations or aspirations they might have had, serving a foreign king was unlikely to be among them. At a time when young people today might dedicate three years to training or studying in order to pursue their ambitions, this cohort was to be trained for three years (1:5) in preparation for another 70 spent serving the ambitions of other people (1:21).

Their hope is not in their own success or wealth or ease. It can't be. Healthy, handsome, able and informed as they were (1:4), with God-given superiority in matters of wisdom and understanding (1:20), none of those gifts are cultivated by Babylon for their benefit, comfort, financial gain or security, but for the king's advantage. (And, I should say, for The King's – for God is positioning them according to his good purpose and for his renown, as we see in later chapters.)

Their hope is not in an identity they have to forge for themselves. It could never be. Their Hebrew names have meanings that declare great truths about God, names which get changed. Daniel, which means God is my judge is renamed Belteshazzar, Baal protects the king. Hananiah's God is gracious is replaced with Shadrach, Under the Command of Aku (the moon god). Mishael means There is none like God, is to go by Meshach, There is none like Aku (another god). And Azariah, whose name declares God has helped me is to become Abednego, The Servant of Nebo (the Babylonian god of wisdom). Their names get changed. And those changes couldn't feel more pointed! But, crucially, the truths about Yahweh that they declare don't. Yes, names matter in the Bible. But at the end of the day, their identity is not in their name, it is in their relationship with God. Their names do not make their identity; their hope is not in them. God gives them their identity; their hope is in him. 

Their hope is not in small pleasures and little luxuries. Daniel resolves that it won' t be. Whatever the reason Daniel purposes in his heart not to be defiled by accepting food and wine from Nebuchadnezzar's table (and the reason isn't clear), by doing so he is saying 'no' to the little respite, the little treat, the little comfort that food and wine often represent. His hope is not in taking pleasure where he can find it. 

Ultimately, their hope is in nothing that is changeable or transient. It is in nothing that is a gift rather than the Giver. It is in nothing that is threatened by the vagaries of living in a sinful world that is under judgment. In short, it is in nothing they can lose. (And consider everything they lost!) Rather their hope is placed entirely in the One who is unchanging and secure – in his promises, in his goodness, in his power and in his word. 

The rest of the narrative sections of Daniel show what that distinctive hope looks like in action. And the prophetic sections of Daniel reveal some of the truths about God that are reasons for the hope they have. 

Hope in...?

What would someone watching my life suppose my hope is pinned on or comes from? On success? On my family? On my comfort and prosperity? On an identity I am crafting for myself and/or presenting to others? On the little luxuries and boons and boosts that food or drink or TV or holidays represent? What would they assume I am living for, looking forward to, relying on? It's a challenging question.

Distinctive living – living that doesn't pursue what the world pursues – attracts attention. And distinctive living is rooted in a distinctive hope. Such living holds loosely to success, relationships, ambitions, ease and luxury because such hope values more highly what is already secured for us in Christ. That hope is in Someone different and so leads to a life that looks different.

When I sing 'My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness', I want it to be true not just that my hope for salvation and eternal life lies only in Christ, but that the certain hope I have that those are already secure is the only hope I need to live by. I want my watching friends and neighbours and family to say, 'Her hope is built on nothing other than Jesus; she only seems to want and need him.'

So, I want to trust the God Daniel trust as completely as Daniel does. I want to delight in the God Daniel delights in as completely as he does. I want to rely on the God Daniel relies on above all else as he does. I want daily to hope only in the God Daniel hopes in. Because I suspect I often don't look all that distinctive and that my hopes need realigning. And so I'm looking forward to hearing from the God whom Daniel took at his word. I'm looking forward to fixing the eyes of my heart on the God whose acts and character, promises and plans Daniel recorded for us. 

And I'm going to mentally title this season of study and reflection and prayer A Distinctive Hope.