There are many “benedictions” or statements of blessing in the bible. Romans 15:13 is one of my top three biblical benedictions. Not only is it a blessing but it is a very intentional blessing to all those who believe, Jew and Gentile alike. This is a New Covenant blessing for all who can hear and believe. Today’s passage is found in the conclusion of Paul’s argument for the inclusion of the Gentiles in the blessings of God through Jesus. I am starting towards the end of the passage so if you have the time I would recommend reading over this section in its entirety.

[Paul continues to quote the Old Testament]

Hope comes from God

So where does hope come from? According to this passage hope, joy and peace come from God as we believe in Him. First, it’s important to notice that God is called the “God of hope”. Paul connects hope so tightly with God that he refers to Him as the God of hope. Are there other forms of hope? Sure, but they are false and temporary hopes. At best they can give a bit of momentary comfort, without God to anchor these hopes in eternity they are ultimately disappointing and short lived. God is the God of eternal hope. He gives a hope with eternal value. The hope God gives is a hope with substance. He himself is the thing our faith hopes for. He is life eternal and joy and peace. He is the source of all these things. In Him these things never end and never disappoint.

The world we live in has few sources of hope of any kind. The government is corrupt and incompetent, institutions are overwhelmed and often wrong headed and corrupt as well. Corporations, banks, modern philosophies all fail. They are corrupted and/or bankrupt. Then there is the American way, we trust ourselves. Well, we are corrupt as well, we are the ones that are individually and corporately responsible for the corruption of the world.

Hope is a miracle

To appreciate hope we need to take a long honest look at our own hearts. When we do that, we will stop complaining about evil and start repenting of it - in earnest. John Mayer once wrote a song called, “Waiting for the world to change”. In it he resigns himself to an empty and futile hope that with the next generation in charge things will get better. That was in 2006. When we see, honestly see, what is in our hearts, all hope that the world will “change” through our efforts will leave us. The world will change but we will not be the hero of that story, Jesus is the hero in that story. Only Jesus can save this world. There is hope, but that hope must never be in our own efforts to change things to our liking. The hope that is real is a miracle and a gift from God, just like life itself. Our hope did not begin with us and thankfully it does not end with us.

Hope is a Gift

Hope is a gift from God but it was never meant to end with us. Like Paul we need to actively seed this hope everywhere we go. We need to water that hope with prayer for all those who need hope. We need to cultivate that hope with our words and with our actions, so that all can see that there is hope. Not an empty hope that humanity will eventually “get it right”. But an eternal hope in a God that has been working from the beginning to create and sanctify a people to spend eternity with.

Have a great week!