On The Hope We Have In Christ

Romans 8:22-30 PHILLIPS  It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail. And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realised our full sonship in him. We were saved by this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got. But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience. The Spirit of God not only maintains this hope within us, but helps us in our present limitations. For example, we do not know how to pray worthily as sons of God, but his Spirit within us is actually praying for us in those agonising longings which never find words. And God who knows the heart’s secrets understands, of course, the Spirit’s intention as he prays for those who love God. Moreover we know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. God, in his foreknowledge, chose them to bear the family likeness of his Son, that he might be the eldest of a family of many brothers. He chose them long ago; when the time came he called them, he made them righteous in his sight, and then lifted them to the splendour of life as his own sons.

Romans 8:29-30 MSG  ^29-30 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

Observation

 Romans 8 is a chapter about letting go of our past, patiently embracing all that being “in Christ” provides for us, and patiently putting our hope and faith in the future God has planned for us all (“in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got”).  Paul encourages us to be patient in our “state of painful tension” (in our impatience, anguish and urgency to see results/progress in ourselves and others). He tells us that the Holy Spirit is working God’s love, grace and truth in us and the world around us 24/7/365 (albeit most of the time imperceptibly to us) in powerful ways in hearts and other places inaccessible to us.

He asks us to trust in God’s original and only plan – even when we don’t understand how “everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.”  This is all fine and good when life is going smoothly, but becomes so difficult when we face urgent and heartbreaking circumstances that shake us to our foundation – prodigal children, chronic/fatal illness, death, divorce, and so on. How could God turn such events to bring about good, to accomplish His original and only plan?  How can He give us beauty for ashes and joy for mourning?  Only God, only God!

Impact on Me

Like Paul, I look back over my life to see persecution in times of spiritual and emotional imprisonment, shipwreck and beatings.  So can you. Wounds caused by dysfunctional families, abusive relationships, breakups and/or divorces, mental or physical illness, mistreatment, rejections, abandonment, betrayals, deaths, prodigals, church issues – to name a few – all create wounds that make us sensitive and condition our reaction to the world, situations and circumstances around us. Paul is asking you and me to let Jesus heal the wounds of the past so we can respond according to hope and faith rather than react according to the wounds of our past. 

Paul is asking me (and you) to be defined by God’s purpose to place me in Christ so I can become like Him – “We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him.”  Paul is asking me to focus on God’s future for me rather than my past experiences or what this world can offer. In Christ my past no longer can hurt or limit me – if I allow myself to release the guilt, shame and sensitivities of it. In Christ, I can freely forgive because I have been freely forgiven. In Christ, I am His beloved regardless of how the world judges my worth. In Christ, I can rejoice and trust always even when the world calls me foolish. It is my choice to live as in Christ or of the world.

 “In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my life, my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled and striving cease. My Comforter, my all-in-all; here in the love of Christ I’ll stand.”

Prayer

 My God, my God, You are all-in-all – Holy, loving, all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal, Creator, Redeemer, Restorer.  You have planned from beginning to end, start to finish, a perfect, majestic strategy to accomplish Your will and purpose. So much of the time I do not understand what is happening or how it can ever be turned around for good BUT I know You do. Forgive me for all the times I have failed and chosen to live as in the world rather than in Christ. Help me to set aside my need to understand or do something to fix it and instead pray, placing my hope and trust in You in those times, remembering “to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.”  Help me to embrace, believe and live as in Christ as I walk through my life on this earth.  I know it is Your desire to see this accomplished in me. Make it so, Lord, in Jesus’ name I pray.