Romans Chapter 5 cont'd
Yet, not only do we have joy because of our bright future but, paradoxically, we also discover joy in the middle of the pressures and difficulties of this life. This is because we are confident that there is divine purpose in these things. Consider the positive character qualities that can grow out of our trials. Patience can only be formed in us by the temporary denial of what we would prefer and true spiritual maturity cannot exist without one of its main elements- patience. Being personally transformed through this maturation process imparts the assurance that we really are going to one day be fully like Christ. Furthermore, we know that our hope of perfection is not a fantasy, because of the reality of our encountering God's love for us, in us and through us. All this is made possible by the vital personal relationship we already freely enjoy with the Holy Spirit who fills our hearts with God's love. So it is a glorious cycle: genuine personal growth here and now inspires confidence in our future perfection, which, in turn, inspires further spiritual growth in the present.
Comments:
Joy is a "bottom line" issue of the kingdom of God in our lives. In this first part of Romans 5, Paul is revealing the psychologically sound "life-view" that underpins and informs our experience of joy in Christ. As believers, our future bliss is obvious (and worthy of regular pondering!), but this expectation is a "living hope" (as Peter calls it) that has the intrinsic power to translate downpayments of this future joy into our present experience...despite any of our challenging circumstances in this still imperfect environment. There are two primary elements that converge to impart to us such joy.
First, trials, which are inevitable, are actually useful to our deepest longing and our ultimate goal...to become like Christ. And...we (and others) have witnessed the genuine (and also inevitable) growth in Christlikeness that we have experienced by patiently enduring adversity without giving up on loving God and others. (Resistance, though painful...builds muscles!) Second, in the midst of our trials and sufferings, God is with us "in the now" through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Mysteriously, He makes a way for hope and joy to sufficiently seep into our hearts and minds, so that we are blessed, stabilized, comforted and surrounded (often consciously) with the Divine in the face of the messes and tragedies of this life. The pains are real, but so is the comfort and the joy. This dynamic in our lives, truly, is a powerful and compelling witness to the reality of the resurrection of Christ in the eyes of a watching world.
May we find grace to face the trials of the day with the joy of Jesus Christ pumping in our souls.
No comments:
Post a Comment