Boast in the Hope—Rom 5:1-11

February 24

What causes you to rejoice? In our special music this week, the singer rejoices in the intimacy she feels with her lover. “We rejoice like stars—exploding with light and heat.” Our culture idolizes this sort of romantic ecstasy. It is at the heart of every comic story.
In the movie “Stranger than Fiction” Harold Krick finds himself as the hero in a story. It begins when he is brushing his teeth and a voice begins to narrate. In his search to find out what is happening to him, he consults a professor of English literature, who helps him discover what sort of story he is in, a tragedy or a comedy. In tragedy, the hero dies. In comedy, the hero falls in love and gets married. The stakes can be no higher.
But in the long run what difference does it make? I hate to disappoint you, but even if Harold’s story is a comedy and he finds the right woman, he is still going to grow old and die. His story will ultimately be tragic.
This is true for us as well. What causes us to rejoice? I hate to disappoint you but finding the right woman, the right man, the right relationship will not bring you everlasting joy, in the romantic thrill of the first season of love, you will rejoice like stars, but after 18 months tops, these feelings will fade. Even if you endure and your relationship matures. You are still heading towards death, first one and then the other. Where can we find a more lasting foundation for rejoicing?
Paul, in Romans 5:2, states that “we boasts [rejoice, exult] in the hope of the glory of God.” As Christians, we rejoice in the hope of sharing God’s glory. We exult in the fabulous gift of God to us through Jesus Christ. I am reminded of the words of Delmar in “Oh Brother where art thou?” After he was baptized, he says to Everett and Pete—“Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward.” So far so good, but what happens when life gets rough, and the initial romance of having our sins warshed away fades?
V 3 “we also boast [or rejoice] in our sufferings” How is this possible? Paul goes on. “Suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance produces character. Character produces hope.” Suffering is the key to our transformation—from children of darkness, to children of the light, from agents of hell to citizens of heaven.
By accepting the most difficult of our circumstances, rejoicing in those areas of our lives that are most broken, most in need, those parts of our lives that we are ashamed of, that are a source of pain. What do you struggle with? A physical infirmity, unloving parents, a spouse who has rejected you, mental illness, an Addiction, unrelenting Poverty, Loneliness?
By embracing our area of struggle, facing it squarely, suffering whatever it is, we will find our struggle beginning to shape us—mature us, forming the trait of perseverance—ability to tolerate pain, discomfort. This in turn will begin to build up our character, develop character strengths, hard working, reliable despite the odds, people who keep their promises. Because the way we handle adversity is the key to our achieving our potential, to our becoming the people God has created us to be. With this notion, sin becomes our giving up, turning from the path of suffering to a side road of momentary pleasure or distraction.
But who is equal to this task?
V 6-8 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
This transformation begins with God’s work in our hearts long before we are engaged with God’s work of changing us. Infant baptism is a sign of this—we rely upon God’s work in our children, long before they are aware of it. Knowing that God is at work in our hearts long before there is any evidence enables us to pray with hope for those who give no sign of interest in God or Jesus or salvation. Somewhere hidden deep within the person, God might be at work.
The Christian story is both a tragedy and a comedy. It begins as a tragedy—we are corrupted by sin, assured by our heritage and our actions to suffer the wrath of God on judgment day. But for whosoever believes in Jesus and follows him, we by being bound with him, we die with him in his death on the cross—tragedy, and then because God’s wrath is satisfied through Jesus’ death, Jesus is raised from the death, and those of us who cling to him, are raised as well to eternal life, free from our sins and the judgment they deserve. Our life story becomes a comedy, has a happy ending—eternal life. That enables us to rejoice in all circumstances, good times and especially in bad.
Grace and peace,
James