“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5 (RSV) (Context: Romans 5)
This passage is a good “big picture” for believers. It has good Christian “keywords”: faith, peace, grace, rejoice, hope, glory. Then some harder words: suffering, endurance, character. Thankfully we finish with more great words: hope, love, the Holy Spirit.
Hope is mentioned several times. Humans need hope, and when hope is gone, we despair. When I find myself losing hope, it usually comes from focusing on specific, short-term situations. Even months- or years-long situations are short-term, in view of eternity. We are promised a share of God’s glory, through His grace!
“That’s great,” you say, “but I can’t always focus on the hope of eternal life and ignore the present.” This is our constant tension: the now and the not yet. It’s where the harder words come in: enduring suffering that builds character. In our instant gratification culture, we love to share glory. Endure suffering, rejoice in suffering? Not so much.
Truth be told, this cycle – suffering, enduring, building character, and obtaining hope – is the cycle of our Christian lives. We experience it in big and small ways, no matter our situation. If we rejoice in sufferings, knowing that the end result is the building of our character, this gives us hope. God is refining us!
Finally, sharing in God’s glory is not restricted to the future in heaven. We share in His glory now, in the present, as we receive His grace and peace, and trust Him for our hope in all things big and small, present and future.
Beth Kirby
Beth is a founding member of Servants. She has served in various roles over the years: Director of Children’s Ministry and Church Administrator to name a few. She has since stepped down from direct church ministry and now focuses her energies on caring for her family.