The following article was condensed from a Burning Hearts interview between Rachel Herbeck and Bishop Robert McClory on May 24, 2026. You can listen to Burning Hearts at www.renewalministries.net/bh or anywhere you access podcasts.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
(Eph 1:18-19)

CALLED TO HOPE

The hope to which we’ve been called is the ultimate destiny of eternal life with Christ and the saints. That vision towards our ultimate fulfillment is extraordinary, but our lives are not just about holding on, gritting our teeth, and hoping we make it to the end. It’s also that we have this experience right now of God entering into our lives through Jesus.

One of the symbols of hope is an anchor—something that roots you. Hope is not optimism and it’s not just positive thinking. Hope is rooted in what Christ has done for us, and so we can have certainty about our destiny as we hold on to the anchor who is Christ.

In the letter to the Ephesians, we see a connection between prayers of thanksgiving and hope. Reflecting on what the Lord has done for us and remembering the ways He has been with us in difficult times increases hope in us. Sometimes there are situations in life that you think are intractable. You can’t always see how you’re going to get through them, but you do and that gives you a confidence that the Lord is there. Thanksgiving for what the Lord has done and for what He’s doing in other people provides further confidence about what He will do, even if right now things are difficult.

GLORIOUS INHERITANCE & INCOMPARABLE POWER

When we think about our glorious inheritance, sometimes we talk about a spirit of adoption. Elsewhere in the scriptures, it says that we are co-heirs with Christ.

I think about those who are referred to as the boat people from Vietnam. Without talking about the details and nuances of that situation, there are these people who are just out on the sea with ramshackle boats hoping to make it someplace. Imagine if some beautiful yacht pulled up and said, “You’re my long-lost children. Come on board. Look at what I’m giving you. This is your inheritance.” It’s as if the greatest billionaire in the world adopted you. This example is purely in a material sense, but we have an inheritance that far exceeds that. We can just be adrift and hopeless, but the Lord says, “I have blessings to give you in this life and beyond.”

Ultimately, our inheritance is our eternal destiny, but it is also that we can have hope, vibrancy, and a knowledge of the Lord’s joy and peace for us now. The greatness that the Lord intends for us is his power in us who believe. We have access to the Holy Spirit and to Christ, which can propel us forward. This is the extraordinary vision that St. Paul is giving us, and this is what Christ has done and what God intends to do for us now.

IDENTITY IN CHRIST

As we seek to live this out, it comes down to our identity in Christ Jesus. We are beloved sons and daughters of a loving Father because we have this inheritance.

Oftentimes, people don’t know their identity. This can be true at any age, and it’s particularly true of young people. They can allow others to define them without saying, “No, I am a beloved son, I’m a beloved daughter of a loving Father, and I have an inheritance given to me in Christ.” We can’t live according to the world’s terms in regard to who we are, but we need to live according to what has been revealed to us by God’s word in Jesus Christ.