Hope for the Future

Rom. 5:1

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom. 5:1-12

The central idea in this passage is that believers have hope for future glory and eternal life because they have been made righteous by the blood of Christ. It is amazing to me that Christ died for us while we were still steeped in sin. When He looked at us, there was no redeeming quality. But His blood changed all that. Through Him there could be redemption. 

But God shows his love for us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us. 

Through His Son, God was making the way possible for those whom He called to be saved, to be reconciled to Him. Once we are saved, then our lives become right with God. We have peace with Him. What is better than having peace with the God of the universe! But wait, there's more. Through Jesus we have access into the grace in which we stand. Without this grace, we would have no standing before God. 

But wait, there's more. Through Him and His great grace, we can rejoice in our sufferings. Now that is hard to believe! Humanly speaking, no one rejoices in suffering. In fact, they become depressed and hopeless. But we are not without hope. We have a  future that promises eternal life. What makes this rejoicing in suffering possible? We can rejoice in suffering because it produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given us.  God has changed it all. Our lives have now been transformed. Instead of thinking only of the flesh, we now see life through the eyes of Jesus. We want to be like Him, and the way to do that is through suffering. Did Jesus suffer when he died? Yes, it was an horrendous death full of suffering to the max, and we are called to follow in His footsteps. He does not call us to do this alone. He fully equips us to stand strong and to endure. The only possible for us to do this is through His grace and strength. Then step by step we grow in His image. But wait there's more. We rejoice in God through Jesus, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 

Returning to verse 1, it says we have been justified by faith. Where did this faith come from? The faith to be saved was a gift from God as well. It is all a gift of God so that no man can boast save in Jesus Christ. So to sum up, because of His blood, we have been saved, justified, and reconciled. We can rejoice in God and in our suffering. We have a new direction and purpose for our life. We now live constantly looking forward to our great hope that is eternal life and the glory of God. We have access into the grace in which we stand and peace with God. We have the grace that we need, and we have the Holy Spirit to lead and teach us.

Father,
My heart rejoices as I see all that You have given me. I am so thankful for Your grace that helps me live each day. Thank You, Father, for calling me to be Your child and giving me peace with You. Thank You, Spirit for pouring God's love into my heart. Thank You, Jesus for making all of this possible, for shedding Your blood and losing Your life for me.
In Jesus name,
Amen