“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.” Romans 15:13
August 14, 2024
Standing at a bus stop. Some of us are quite familiar with what is involved in making the necessary arrangements in all kinds of weather, looking for the right bus to take us to our destination. Let’s call that hope. To put it theologically, it is having the maximum amount of knowledge and assurance with regard to the future. It would appear that Paul wants fellow believers to know that we will be dwelling in harmony in the future. Why not now? As hopeful people, living as we do through seasons of relief and seasons of suffering, waiting for the return of Christ. That’s what we are doing. God is a God of hope. He is our God. The only real hope is found in God. He has given us an ample amount of promises (note the promises given in 15:9-12). God creates hope within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Am I acting on what God has said? Hope is both the cause and the result of hope. We live at the bus stop of life, as it were. The bus is coming. Am I living joyfully and peacefully? The death and resurrection of Christ give all the reasons we need for living hopefully.
H
“Hope is never ill when faith is well.” John Bunyan (1628-1688)