Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Suffering in Christ produces a list of fruit as we’re reflecting on, on Sunday mornings: perseverance, character and hope. Hoe is a tricky word isn’t it. I hope for many things – I hoped to be a rock star once, but that never happened. X-Factor ‘you can be anything you want to be’ hope can let us down. But our hope in Christ, the hope that sustains us through suffering, is not a naive hope, an act of make belief, but hope that we can be confident in, because through Christ’s incarnation and the Spirit living in us, it’s already started coming true…
Thank you Lord that our suffering is temporary, but you and your love are permanent and here already!
Ps. Don’t forget to pray for and promote the Alpha Course…
https://wormleyfreechurch.org.uk/2020/06/16/questions-about-life-and-faith-try-alpha/
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