Paul’s letter to the Romans hit me in a fresh way this morning. Paul uses the early chapters to lay a foundation of grace. Paul’s bottomline: You don’t deserve God; but you have access to him in spite of yourself. The reason? GRACE! That’s the foundation of our hope in Christ. It is a hope that should inspire us every day. It is cause for rejoicing. Paul even says so in Romans 5:2. But his next phrase is what got me…..
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings…”
Come again? He rejoices in the hope of the glory of God; the hope that we can exist in human form, but have access to the glory only found in God; the hope that someday we shall all experience his glory in a depth that only eternity can describe. Paul says that is cause for celebration….but not as much as the cause to celebrate suffering. Is he serious? What is he saying?
His explanation brought knew light for me. He suggests in verses 3-5 that suffering is the catalyst God uses to create hope in us. Suffering produces endurance; endurance produces character; character produces hope. Hope is supported by the love of God that is poured into us by the Holy Spirit. But it all starts with suffering. God’s means of bringing hope into a desperate situation is pain. God’s means of accomplishing his glory in this life through our lives is pain. So Paul suggests that when we encounter suffering, it is a cause for rejoicing, because it is the guarantee that God is up to something that will ultimately produce a deeper hope, saturated by the Holy Spirit.
Thanks for the reminder Paul…I needed that this morning.
