Romans Chapter 15 cont'd
Even the most powerful man of all, Jesus Christ, didn't use his power to create for himself a pain-free and pleasure-filled earthly life. As scripture says, "I have personally identified with and embraced the rejection they have shown you O God." All the scriptures have been written to impart knowledge, patience and comfort to us so that we can live in hope- a confident expectation of a glorious future.
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What stands out to me in this little paragraph of Romans 15 is how vital it is for us to continually possess hope in our lives. Paul says here that the aim of all the Scriptures, and our Father's primary intent on providing them for us, is that we might "have hope". In Colossians 1-5a the apostle states, "We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven.... The implication here is that hope is the fountainhead of both faith and love...the three virtues of a life lived in the Spirit that receive special attention throughout the New Testament writings. Paul seems to say that if we possess this hope, then both faith and love will naturally and obviously spring forth from it.
Hope is always about our expectations of the future. And...our expectation of the future continually affects our convictions, perspectives, attitudes, decisions, emotions, actions and reactions in the present. Can you personally identify with this connection? Having a Christ-centered hope is about having a genuine, under-girding and confident optimism about our lives in the future...a kind of life that is truly inexpressibly..FULL...of love, beauty, peace, harmony, understanding, purpose, satisfaction, joy and well-being. No more tears (as in ripping); no more tears (as in what flows from our eyes). This life will be lived in the very presence and fully displayed power of God with his entire eternal family in a renewed heavens and earth in which the tension between the invisible and visible aspects of God's magnificent creation will be forever relaxed.
The circumstances of our lives in the future very often stand in stark and harsh contrast to the circumstances of our lives in this fallen age. The circumstances of Jesus' earthly life are an example for us to look to regarding what we will encounter as we follow him in our earthly life. He experienced rejection and injustice in this world...though, paradoxically, he also walked in the joy of his Father's approval...and we also will have our share of the same. Yet, the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures will supply for us the knowledge, patience and comfort we will need to not give up on this life or the people in our world...and especially...our unshakable belief in the goodness of God. Hope informs us that there is redemptive divine purpose for and profound meaning to all of our sufferings and sorrows. We foresee...by the power of hope...that it will be worth it all.
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