Scripture Passage that Caught my attention today: Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and 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.
Observation: This is not the popular strain of Christianity that is often trumpeted today.
Application: Escape. That’s what so many people seem to want these days. Escape from work. Escape from responsibility. Escape from suffering. Escape from a relationship or situation. Escape from this world (i.e. those who promote ‘rapture’ theology). Some folks, regrettably desire to escape even from life itself by taking their own.
Granted, there are, at times, situations that are not healthy and from which a person may indeed need to endeavor to leave. But the whole idea of always wanting out does not square well with the overwhelming witness to the faith found in the New Testatment. There we find people rejoicing for the opportunity to suffer for and/or like Christ. And when you think about it, that makes more sense anyway. The Bible doesn’t say that God so loved Jesus that he spared him from the world. Rather, it says that God so loved the world that he sent his only son so that whoever believes in him might have eternal life. Rather than escaping, Jesus was sent straight into our worldly fray! According to Paul (see passage above), God has done the heavy lifting (justifying us by faith) and through that faith we have the kind of peace that can see benefits in suffering that build on one another, leading up to a kind of hope that does not disappoint. Hence even as we pray “Come, Lord Jesus!” in terms of his promised return, we also say “thank you, Lord Jesus” for giving us the kind of peace that does not lead us to be obsessed with a desire to escape.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for this day. And be with all who suffer in body or spirit, that they might somehow find in you the peace to carry on. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Readings today included: 1 Kings 9, 2 Chronicles 8, Psalm 136, and Romans 5)
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