While reading through Romans 5, I got stuck in verses 3-5 which state:
‘More than that, we rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character, and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the HolySpirit who has been given to us.’
The word ‘hope’ and how it has been used in the bible caught my eye. I went ahead and looked it up to find this;
1. ‘a belief that something desired will happen’
2. ‘a person, thing or circumstance that makes hope possible.’ Wow!
Of late, I have been encouraging a friend alot to hold on to hope. Jenny & Tyler’s song, ‘Holding onto hope’ always comes to play. But what does the bible really mean when it talks about hope?
1. Redemption
Romans 5:5 ‘……..and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the HolySpirit who has been given to us.’
Verse 8 continues to say that, ‘….but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’
See the connection between the two verses? One talks of God’s love, the other is the demonstration. In this is hope, the infilling of love by the outpouring of Christ. Hope is used in this instance to mean redemption, reconciliation, and peace with God. In this case, the second dictionary definition of hope applies. Christ makes hope possible.
2. The Future Glory
Another way hope is used in the bible is to highlight on the glory that is to be revealed.
Romans 8:18-30 talks of how the present sufferings are incomparable to the future glory. Creation groans in expectation of it and even us, the ones having the firstfruits of the Spirit even the more. For it is in this HOPE that were saved. That’s what the bible says.
The Psalmist cries out in Psalms 130.5 ‘I will wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in his word I hope.’ He goes on to say, ‘Oh Israel, hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is steadfast love and with him is plentiful redemption and he will redeem Israel from all her iniquities. Redemption and future glory are seen in the same chapter. In Psalms 119:49-50 it says, ‘Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: your promise preserves my life.’
This hope for the future glory works presently to give us strength for each day and we wait for it with patience. The bible itself says in Prov.13:12 that hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. The world hopes in what it does not know and in a future that has not been secured. Therefore, in this case, the first dictionary definition of hope applies. We believe that a future glory will be revealed stamped by the assurance of Christ in us the hope of glory in Colossians 1:27.
A worthy note is that Christ is the constant in both ‘hopes.’ Without him, we are hopeless, neither redeemed nor longing for a future glory. So I finish off like the Psalmist saying, ‘Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.’
Do have a hope-filled day.
Grace & Peace
broken_pieces 