The hope of christ

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our 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 Holy Spirit who has been given to us. —Romans 5:1-5

Hope is the product of endurance through suffering. Only when we have suffered can we hope. In times when we’ve had little, we yearn for more; in times of pain, we ache for relief; and when confronted with our sinfulness, we long for justification. As Christians, we recognize that the only true, lasting hope for all things is in Jesus Christ, the chief sufferer, who endured the agony of the cross and bore the terrible weight of sin so that He, being God, would be the One who would take the penalty for all things and then give to us grace, mercy, love, and hope as free gifts. Because of His suffering, we can likewise endure our lesser sufferings in great hope – not a hope from uncertainty, but a hope from the confident knowledge that God makes good on every promise: the hope of Christ, which “does not put us to shame.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your son Jesus, and for the confident hope that we have in Him. Forgive us for putting our hope in the things of this world. Help us to look to You always for all that we need, and to find courage and strength in You when trials come for us. Produce in us a character that only comes from knowing You. Help us to carry our hope with joy, and let it affect every aspect of our lives. May we be known as a people of unshakeable hope.

Amen.

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