Romans 15:13 “May
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the
power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
What
a great little article I came across the other day on “hope”. May it bless you
with the joy and peace of the Lord.
Jesus
brought hope to the Gentiles, taking people who had no hope of salvation
because they were outside the covenants of promise with Israel and redeeming
them, giving them a secure, everlasting hope of abundant life in the presence
of God and eternal life in Heaven. In so doing, Christ also confirmed hope for
the Jews, fulfilling the Lord’s promises to make the family of Abraham the
source of blessing for the world because He, as Abraham’s seed, provides for the
salvation of people from every tribe and tongue. This theme of hope is
prevalent in Romans 15:8–12, as Paul establishes this teaching and then quotes
extensively from the Old Testament to support his instruction. We find even
more reasons to rest in the hope of salvation when we read these prophecies
from Deuteronomy, Psalms, and Isaiah, and their fulfillment in Christ through
His ministry to bring Gentiles into the kingdom of God. Jesus accomplished what
was prophesied centuries beforehand, so we can trust the Lord who revealed to
the prophets what was to come regarding the work of His Son. We can trust that
He is able to save as He has promised.
This
theme of hope prompts Paul to move once more into a prayer-exhortation in
today’s passage. He asks “the God of hope”—the Creator who is the source and
guarantor of the hope of redemption—to fill us with “joy and peace in
believing.” The twin virtues of joy and peace accompany true faith in Christ.
Of course, because of our remaining sin, there will be times when we do not
feel joyful or peaceful. At such times, we must remember that the reality of
the peace and joy that we enjoy in Christ does not depend on our subjective
experience. If we are in Christ by faith alone, then we are at peace with God
and not under His wrath, and the joy of salvation, even when temporarily
obscured, is not destroyed. Heaven rejoices that we have come home, and the
objective joy of kingdom citizenship sustains us in the night until we find joy
again in the morning.
Matthew
6:19-21 “Lay not up for
yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
God’s
kingdom consists in “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”, which
are ultimately grounded in the hope of final redemption that Jesus purchased
for us. Faith in Christ and the hope He has secured leads to the joy and peace
that this hope enables, and dwelling on this hope increases the joy and peace
it provides. Even though the subjective experience of peace and joy will wax
and wane to some degree
over the course of our walk with Christ, we should nevertheless expect our
sense of peace and joy to grow stronger as we mature in the faith. As we
meditate on the surety of our hope to come, we will rejoice that there is
treasure laid up for us in heaven and we will find more reasons to be at peace,
knowing that this fallen world can threaten our peace only in a temporary
sense.
Blessings
in hope through Jesus Christ, our Lord
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