majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Galatians 5:5,
"By faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for
which we hope."
Hope is a wonderful thing. In this context it is not meant as "I sure
hope something happens" as if we are uncertain. Here it refers to the
excitement of something pending that we are assured of. Hope is that
element of waiting with an exquisite anticipation for something
wonderful we know for certain is coming our way. Paul speaks of that
wonderful day when we will stand in God's very presence with a right
standing with him. In spite of any and all sin in our lives, in spite
of all of our shortcomings, in spite of all the things we should have
done and never did, we will stand in his presence as righteous. Jude
puts it this way, "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to
present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great
joy be glory, majesty, power and authority..." Jude 24.
We also wait with eager anticipation the redemption of our bodies.
While some claim today to already possess it, our bodies are still
under the curse and we will all die. Paul points out that one day
these bodies will be redeemed, however, which is something we look
forward to in the resurrection. Paul calls this our great hope. "Not
only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope
that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But
if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
Romans 8:23-25. But this waiting patiently, is as I say, an exquisite
anticipation as it is something promised us from our God who is
entirely trustworthy to deliver on all his promises.
This hope provides that edge, that excitement in our relationship with
our God. In another letter of Paul he says, "We always thank God, the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have
heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all
the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is
stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in
the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you." Colossians
1:3-6a. This hope produces faith and love within us.
What a wonderful hope we have as children of God!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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