Today's Meditation - June 25, 2020

Today's Meditation

Read Romans 5:1-11

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

⁶For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. ⁹Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. ¹¹But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

This is probably one of my top 5 Bible Passages.  

Just in case you were wondering, my other favorites are:

Psalm 139

Micah 6:8

John 3:16-17

Philippians 2:5-11

      I've preached on this passage many, many times so I'm not sure if there is anything new I can add to what I've said in the past about it.  I'll simply state again that the three greatest emotions that are listed in 1 Corinthians 13 - faith, hope and love - are not surface emotions.  They are complex and come from a place deep within a person.  Faith has roots and its story about where it comes from in so many scripture passages (a good synopsis is Hebrews 11), same with love - which is sprinkled throughout all of the Biblical account.  But, here in this passage is the foundation for hope.  Hope begins with suffering, which produces endurance in a person, that endurance tests the type of person you will become and develops your character and from that proven character arises hope.  Hope that a new morning comes.  Hope that our sufferings will come to an end.  Hope that glory and joy are just around the corner or that they might continue for another brief moment longer.  Hope that those other two greatest emotions, faith and love, pervade the spirit of all people and that we will one day be at peace with one another.

     No matter what you might be going through right now, know that God is preparing you for hope.  That deep within your spirit a hope is springing up, that comes from deep within, that carries with it all that you've already been through, the endurance of a life well lived - experiences that have shaped you and molded you to be the person you are today.  And that person can hope for a brighter, richer, more rewarding tomorrow.

I Have This Hope