![]() For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Perhaps the best way to explain this hope is through Paul’s own words later in his letter. “… and character produces hope,” – Romans 5:4bįinally, we have come to hope. ![]() And that proven character will finally, and fully, produce in us hope. Our endurance will be a witness to trusting in God rather than in ourselves as we respond to our suffering. Paul is saying that our endurance in suffering will actually serve as proof of where we have placed our trust. The word here is really closer to the idea “proven character” – that which has been proven over time. The original Greek word can also be used to mean proof, experience, or something that has been tried. Character here is not merely referencing our personality. Yet, again, it is important to define this word. In the same way our suffering is producing endurance, our endurance is producing something in us as well – character. “and endurance produces character…” – Romans 5:4a In our suffering, we are given the opportunity to actively trust God, over and over again for longer periods of time and through ranging measures of trail. Runners start small and over months, even years, they push themselves through longer periods of pain, teaching their bodies to persevere. ![]() Instead, a runner must first train his or her body to endure each mile. No one wakes up in the morning, says “I’ll run a marathon today” and then does it well. The type of endurance produced by suffering is more like the conditioning of a runner. We placed our hope in a “return to normal,” and we put all our strength toward holding on long enough to get there.īut this is not what Paul meant by endurance. Most of us have spent months simply trying to hold on – to our programs, our plans, and our people. ![]() If I had to guess, I have not been alone in this response. My initial reaction to this pandemic was a white-knuckle response. “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance.” – Romans 5:3 Our suffering is meant to produce something deeper within us. In short, hope is not the absence of our suffering, but the fruit of it. His words are meant to give a vision for the process of growth – a process that begins with suffering but ends with unwavering hope. Yet, what is important to note is that Paul does not simply draw a line directly from suffering to hope. Romans 5:1-5 is a well-traversed passage in times of suffering as it gives a vision for hope in the midst of trials. Through His words of grace in Romans 5, He invited me to stop asking: “what should we be doing,” and to begin considering “who are we becoming?” In God’s kindness, He did not give me an answer to this question instead, He used His Word to show me that I was asking the wrong question. I knew all my leaders wanted was to know what they should be doing, and I desperately wanted to give them an answer. Recently, as I prepared for a virtual gathering of lay leaders, I plead with God for wisdom to help me answer this question. I mean, how can I possibly answer this question for others when I cannot even answer it for myself? However, any attempt I have made to answer this question for others has felt insufficient and exhausting. The past six months have felt like a search for the answer to one, simple question: What should I be doing? In an uncertain time, all anyone wants is a little bit of clarity and direction.
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