Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...and we boast in our hope...but we also boast in our sufferings...[that] produces endurance...and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit... [Romans 5:1-6]
Tonight I was studying the scriptures that will be read in church tomorrow as I was preparing to write the Prayers of the People for the service in the morning. The passage from Romans gave me some pause, as I thought about the past months and thinking about the months to come. "We boast with hope" made me think how much hope we have had to have to believe that Doug would recover. Everything the doctors told me was so uncertain. I don't know if I refused to believe them or that I was just given the gift of faith and hope. I felt certain Doug would recover and I still do. I don't know exactly what it looks like to boast in our faith, but I wonder if it is like being certain in our faith.
The second part of the passage gives us even more to think about: "But we also boast in our sufferings...(that) produces endurance...and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us". I guess we all wonder at one time or another why we suffer. Some people have more suffering in their lives than others. The benefit of believing in God, and trusting in the goodness of God, is knowing that in our suffering we are never alone. Through hope and faith we are given what we need to continue. We build our endurance day by day as God's love is poured into our heart. We learn we can endure.
These past few weeks we have had a number of friends who have been sick or had surgery. These friends have had so much to endure in their suffering. We pray for all of them and for us. May we all experience the peace that comes from God, as live in faith. And may we all continue to grow in character so that our endurance is strengthen and our hope be sustained. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment